It’s easy to slip into the mentality that we somehow fell through the cracks of God’s good plans. Things are too final. The ink is too dry. The page has been turned. Their heart is too hard. Your heart is too hurt. The doctors have said impossible. The account is too bankrupt. The biological clock…
Expect the Unexpected
Introduction Kirk and Ashleigh were in their late twenties and already knew the heartbreak of bad news. After three years of tests, procedures, and tears, they sat with the doctor as he explained that they would not be able to conceive. They had reached the end of their medical options. They would have to adjust…
Praying When the Unexpected Disillusions and Hope Wanes
Hope Is an Act of Defiance I don’t know where your hope is struggling. Maybe your beleaguered hope is for… A loved one to be saved A child to come home A marriage to be restored Your body to be healed Your finances to be restored Your career to be revived A home of your…
Why God Allows Trial and Temptation
God allows temptation and trial because they can be good for us. Seriously? Yep. The same Greek and Hebrew words are used in Scripture for both temptation and trial. The distinction depends on intent and motivation. Is the difficult situation for the purpose of tearing down? It’s a temptation. Is it for the purpose of…
One Woman’s Trash: Potential and Redemption
I find a thrill and great satisfaction in buying a special piece at a bargain that’s just right for my home. I love pointing at my chandelier and declaring, “I paid $4 for that at a yard sale!” There is a certain pride that can be found in discovering potential. I almost relish the moments…
Hope: God’s Math Works Differently
Two years out of West Point, Lieutenant Sam Brown was on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device turned his Humvee into a Molotov cocktail. He doesn’t remember how he got out of the truck. He does remember rolling in the sand, slapping dirt on his burning face, running in circles, and finally dropping to his…
From Confession to Redemption
Wasting Away Many of the Psalms are attributed to David. I believe he was paralyzed by the guilt of his past. However, somewhere along his journey he discovered the freedom that comes along with confession. He wrote about this journey from confession to forgiveness in Psalm 32. Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is…
Our Spiritual Inheritance: Participating in the Divine
His divine power has given us everything we need to experience life and to reflect God’s true nature through the knowledge of the One who called us by His glory and virtue. Through these things, we have received God’s great and valuable promises, so we might escape the corruption of worldly desires and share in…
God Often Leads Us Through Trouble, Not Around
A choice faces us every time we are in a mess, entrapped in sin, or confronting our enemy in the world: Will I believe that God can find me here and find a way forward in the mess or will I harden my heart, protect my pride, and simply wish I were somewhere else? Keep yourself…