Your suffering is neither pointless nor isolated. Somehow, Jesus’ sufferings overflow into our lives; somehow ours are linked to his. This is a great honor. It grants our sorrows an incredible dignity; it invites us to know an intimacy and...
READ MORERemember, when Jesus boiled his whole mission down to healing the brokenhearted and setting prisoners free from darkness, he was referring to all of us. Our modern, scientific, Enlightenment worldview has simply removed spiritual warfare...
READ MOREStasi Eldredge's book "Free to Be Me" helps teen girls become the young women God created them to be.
Your beauty is under siege. It is being harassed and taunted and mocked because it matters. You matter. The...
READ MOREWhen God begins to shine his light on some issue in my life, be it internal or some issue taking place around me, I often have a hunch where things might be leading. You know what I mean — I see Christians do this all the time. We get a glimpse...
READ MOREOur beloved family dog is dying. But I’m not going to drag you through that tragedy; I want to share something gracious I’m learning through it.
Only yesterday our vet told us that our sweet golden retriever is very ill, and tonight we’re...
READ MOREThink of consecration as “aligning” and “enforcing” — aligning yourself, or the subject in question, with Jesus and all the laws of his kingdom, then enforcing his rule and those laws over the matter in question. The first steps, which...
READ MOREJesus enjoyed people. Not everyone does, you know. Many stories find him feasting with a rowdy crowd. He invited twelve men to spend day and night with him for three years. His longing for companionship intensifies to a crescendo in Gethsemane: “...
READ MORECompare the shriveled life held up as a model of Christian maturity with the life revealed in the book of Psalms:
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right...
READ MOREWe can have joy, because we can know God’s strength in our weakness. Because God’s mercies are new every morning. Because as we walk through this valley of this shadow of death, we are never abandoned or alone. Our God goes before us, and He is...
READ MOREGod is coming. He has not abandoned us, and he never will. Yes, the pain of life is sometimes too intense to be borne. But when from that place we cry out to Jesus to save us, the heavens rejoice, the demons tremble in defeat, and the Holy Spirit...
READ MOREThe battle of desire is not something that just takes place within us or even between us. It is also taking place against us, all the time. Our desire is under nearly constant attack. “We come into the world longing,” says Gil Bailie, “...
READ MOREThe way to render a man happy, is to engage him with an object that will make him forget his private troubles. — Pascal
Don't be fooled by the apparent innocence of the object you've chosen as an idol; what is the function...
READ MOREStasi Eldredge's book "Free to Be Me" helps teen girls become the young women God created them to be.
Sometimes I am absolutely amazed at how much Jesus loves people. Some days—okay, most days—people can be...
READ MOREI was reading the prophet Jeremiah a few weeks ago when I ran across a passage that referred to God as "the Lord Almighty." To be honest, it didn't resonate. There's something too religious about the phrase; it sounds churchy, sanctimonious. The...
READ MOREI think everyone prays at some point in their life, even if they’re not sure someone is listening. And I’ll bet that one of the most common prayers goes something like, Lord help me; give me strength.
I really like that prayer. It...
READ MOREYears ago some kind soul sent me a book on the devil. It was rather dated, from the 1960s I believe, complete with little caricature drawings of Satan as our adversary. I’m ashamed to admit my first thought was, I know plenty about spiritual...
READ MOREYou can tell a lot about a person by his effect on others. What is Jesus like to be around? What is the aftertaste he leaves in your mouth? Is this someone you’d want to take a long car ride with? We saw Zacchaeus’ reaction. Here are two more,...
READ MORENow — to find God, I have to look where God is. This might help folks who report that God “seems distant,” or as a friend recently commented (with a touch of cynicism), “He doesn’t seem to come around much.” If I want to find a hawk I look up in...
READ MOREWritten centuries ago by St. Patrick, this is a profound and simple prayer for protection. We find ourselves returning to again and again:
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity.
Through...
You are going to have to come to terms with the partial nature of this life. Have you come to terms yet with the partial?
Are you able to hold on to your faith when only some prayers are answered?
It takes genuine maturity.
...
READ MORE