Announcing….some good news for a change! Today I stumbled across this awesome announcement in I Peter 1:6-12. God has prepared “gracious salvation” for us. When I read this passage from the New Living Translation, the words seemed to jump out at me. Like the first century Christians, some of us are enduring hard times. But—good […]
“We become what we behold.” William Blake “We are being transformed into His likeness by looking intently on who He is.” Ruth Chou Simons in Beholding and Becoming. In the middle of a tough season, when many are having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit, one of my friends has been radiant with newfound joy. […]
“As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”(Luke 3:15-16 ESV) Risking Disappointment As a kid, I […]
“I wonder as I wander…” A traditional Appalachian ballad begins with those words. So simple, yet so poignant. “I wonder as I wander out under the sky…” Likewise, I’m inclined to wonder. Why did Jesus the Savior come to die for poor, ordinary (or ornery) people? Did you ever stop and really consider the wonder […]
When you feel troubled, God is…the Quieter of our Souls The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love;he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV) When I was the mother of a newborn, I was always on […]
Perched on my kitchen barstool, eyes fixed on my laptop screen, I opened a Word document and prepared to write. But social media beckoned, Come see what your friends are doing. Advertisements enticed, Come see what’s on sale. Click bait urged, Stop and read this article. An hour later, my Word doc was still blank. Then, like Eve […]
In a world full of conflict, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. (I’ve been studying the attributes of God—one for each letter of the alphabet—and discovering how knowing God’s character makes a difference in my life. This week I’m on P.) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;and the government shall […]
When you’re lonely, remember God is… omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139:7 ESV) God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Those are some fancy theological terms you can file under: Attributes of God. God knows all things, can do all things, and […]
When everything around you is changing, God is…Never-changing. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 (ESV) God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his […]
God is who he says he is, and God tells us he is merciful and gracious. I recently ran across a YouTube video from a 1970’s sitcom, Maude. The title character, a feisty woman with steel-gray hair and a sharp-tongue, famously berated others with the line: “God’ll get you for that.” And sometimes when I […]