It never works to ask people to do for us what only God can do. It never works to wait for God to do what he has clearly called us to do. Here’s the principle: we can’t look horizontally for what we will get only vertically, and we can’t wait vertically for what we have…
You can gaze over the fence and covet another person’s life or tell yourself that God has blessed you in ways you never could have earned. Envy is not mentioned in either the old or new testaments, yet it is singled out as a moral failing particularly to be avoided by Christians. Envy is a…
Living in this present broken world is designed by God to produce longing, readiness, and hope in Him. It’s not natural for us to think about our lives in this way, but the difficulties we all face in this broken world are not in the way of God’s plan. No, they are part of it.…
Each of our lives are shaped by grief and celebration. This isn’t true only for the grand, significant moments of our lives; there are ways in which every day of our lives are marked by moments of grief and celebration. Daily we are sad, mad, upset, or disappointed by something, and every day we are excited,…
There is nothing that argues more for our desperate need for God’s love and grace than the two greatest commandments: 37You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’…
There are many struggles in life. We most likely learned that challenges can be actual lessons for us or an opportunity to support others in our life as they learn or grow through something. I know in my life, when I am in a difficult situation and I know I am being tested, I just…
In life we go through day to day interactions with a variety of people. Depending on the day of the week and our commitments, we have many dialogs and conversations. In the midst of conversations and interactions we get put into positions to either ask or be asked to do things. It is just part…
Moses was sensitive toward people who were oppressed by stronger forces. So sensitive, in fact, the reason he was at the well was because he intervened to stop the abuse of a slave and then ran away when things spiraled out of control. This notwithstanding, when he saw abuse again, he stepped in to help.…
As we continue our work through Fathered by God/Way of the Wild Heart, in session 2 we are reading about the “True son of a True Father”, some things float to the surface. The study guide identifies some key points to remember; take into consideration… Most of us feel fundamentally fatherless. Our core assumptions about…
As the calendar comes to an end and many look to new hopes in a new year and many wish things could have gone different, it is a healthy time for us to reflect on the blessings. Many of us have sat around this table in the past month or so and laid our burdens…