I have a lot of friends, pastors and non-pastors alike, believers and unbelievers too, who are going through deep valleys of pain, illness, loss, sorrows, and betrayals right now. No one is immune to these things. Life, since the fall and until Jesus returns, has always meant that all these things will visit our lives … More Thinking about Sorrow
Read Psalm 35 The ESV editors provide a very simple title/description of this psalm, “Great is the Lord.” Unfortunately, the title might work for a dozen other psalms. So I read it again and I began to take notes to better understand the central themes of the psalm. (There are no better interpretive tools then … More (Psalm 35) The Poor Mean Little to the Rich
Sanctifying the Day Read Psalm 142 Over and over the Scripture, God’s testimony to His people, declares that He is our refuge. Psalm 142 is one of those places were God announces that He is a protector from those who pursue us. ref·uge /ˈrefˌyo͞oj,ˈrefˌyo͞oZH/ 1. a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, … More Finding Shelter from the Enemy
“We are always in the forge, or on the anvil; by trials, God is shaping us for higher things.” Lyman Beecher, (1775-1863) Beecher would know. His was a life steeped in controversy, some of it self-inflicted but all of it under the sovereign gaze of God. God is shaping you too, through the pains and sorrows … More Great Quotes to Make Us Think
Second in a SeriesSimple truth: When we hurt, we want to not hurt. It is universal. It is human. But as a popular worship song suggests: What if Teardrops are Blessings? I want to copy out all three short chapters related to Rule #2 and drop them in this blog post. They are that good. … More Red Sea Rules: Glory over Relief
The author has heard more than a few sermons. There is a richness to his writing that is saturated in phraseology shaped for the ear of a congregation. But this is not a preachy book. It is a helpful echo of the best parts of all those messages you have heard in the past, collected … More 10 Strategies for Thriving in Hard Times
“The Lord will make a way for you where no foot has been before. That which, like a sea, threatens to drown you, shall be a highway for your escape.” —Charles H. Spurgeon So begins the preface to Robert J. Morgan’s, The Red Sea Rules. The book is an exploration of the principles to be … More The Way-Making God
[Picture credits at the end.] Sometimes, we only learn of His care through the times of trauma and pain. I don’t know why this is I just know that it is. It is not a story of which Christians down through the ages have been unaware. C.S. Lewis put it this way: “Pain insists upon … More Pain and Sorrow and there Effect Under Christ
Tuesday is for Spiritual Challenge I love my country. Flaws and all, I love it. I think, on balance, it has been a force for good in the world, even with all of its missteps and corruptions. But it is dangerous to live here. Dangerous to the soul. Our affluence, our comforts, and the long … More Fighting the Urge to Live for Comfort, Convenience and Security
Raising babies or raising churches is similar. In both instances you need to pay attention to essential things. If babies don’t get smiled at, held tenderly, talked to, and fed the right foods they won’t thrive. Baby Christians and baby churches are much the same. The Apostle Paul understood this. It is one of Paul’s … More Bringing Up Baby
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