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Are the End Times Near? Why you can ‘Keep Calm and Carry on.’
Sometimes it feels like there is no doubt that we are living in the End Times. Fires burn, pestilences rage, and unrest abounds. What does that mean for us now? Nothing. Well, nothing different anyway. What makes today unique is that despite what sometimes feels like rising tension in the world, the mission hasn’t changed. In these moments of history, when it feels like hardship is coming at us from every angle, it feels as though Jesus should return. It’s easy to ask oneself, where is the Lord? Isn’t today a good day to be rescued? Something about that feels like the wrong question. A better question might be, what…
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Why Do We Pray
Today, I am honored to share the words of my friend, Cari Johnson. Be encouraged. When I pray I want God to hear me and move, but mostly, I would love to have answers. I want rescue and provision and healing … clear resolution that fits my timeframe. If we’re being completely honest, I would love to have a color-coded spreadsheet of approved/denied requests delivered to my email, but that hasn’t happened. Our God is the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7), who holds tomorrow (Deuter 31:8, John 10:8), and yet He refers to Himself in the present tense (Exodus 3:14). The Great I AM invites us to join Him in…
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“Why do you trouble the Teacher any further?”
“Your daughter is dead. Why do you trouble the Teacher any further? (Mark 6:35).” I came upon this verse recently and those words stood out to me. “Why do you trouble the Teacher any further?” The “teacher,” of course, is Jesus. Why do I continue to bother Jesus with my requests? This is a fair question. Why do I do that? Why do you do that? More importantly, DO we do that? This verse is just a tiny bit of a story found in the book of Mark. Jesus is at the height of his ministry and his reputation is known far and wide as a miraculous healer. At this…
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You’re hired! A Christian perspective on the dwindling workforce.
Since the fall of Man in the Garden, we have known that life would not be easy. There were a few things that God promised would be part of our sin story, and one of them is that life will be hard. The work of daily living was declared as something that would be painful, and that in order to survive we will be battling the very ground we walk on just to eat (Gen. 3:17-19). So, it is no surprise that recent headlines have made it clear that people are not eager to go to work. Whatever the reason, and there are plenty, when we choose not to contribute…
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Pursuing Peace
My mother recently wanted to recount a tale of terror to me about something tragic that happened to a child. I know her intention was teach me a lesson through a cautionary tale, but in reality I just didn’t have the ability to hear a scary story involving young people. Often, my Mom misinterprets my attitude and believes I am too cavalier. In reality, I can be crippled by fear. I heard myself saying, “Mom, if you think my lack of interest is a result of some apathy I have towards my children, or an inability to worry, it’s quite the opposite. There are days when I worry about my…
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Weathering the storms of life; You will need your girlfriends by your side
Find friends who will carry you all the way to Jesus! Many women are resourceful, they can see deals coming from miles away, sew magical things on their machines, bake the tastiest desserts out of 3 ingredients, but when times get tough will they find creative ways to remove any obstacle that separates you from your savior?
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Accountability, A Timely Lesson from Culture and Jesus
Whatever our circumstances, the hope and will of the Father is that we would use the gift of the church and our community to go through this life together. If your world feels dark, you are always one step away from the light in Jesus Christ found in him and fellow believers carrying the torch, ready to the light the way for each other.
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A Call To Prayer
Praying is a lot like breathing. It provides the sustaining rhythms of dependency for life.
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Loving Well in a Blame-shifting Culture
In a home full of young children, among the most common things I hear in the house is why the other sibling is most definitely responsible for wrong doing. Most recently, my eldest son ran up quickly behind my middle son for a sneak attack, smacked him on the bottom and sent him flying further then was intended. I heard the raucous just in time to see my middle son chasing my eldest son with lightning speed, armed with a heavy school backpack, which successfully gave a retribution blow to the fleeing child. Needless to say, as I approached the angry middle son first who had just hauled off and…
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“I see too.” Expecting to see God this Christmas
We have our last little toddler in the house at Christmas time! Well, that is what we thought a few years ago too, but we think this is our last one. He is almost two years old and he is the perfect age to enjoy Christmas. It’s hard to tell how much of it he enjoys and how much of it he finds frustrating. He is very excited for the momentary glimpse of lights he is able to enjoy as the car speeds forward but he is equally as angry when the dazzling lights are no longer in his view. It all happens too fast for him. I feel ya,…
