• Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.

    – Mark 5:36

    She lay on her bed with her eyes closed, her long, black lashes kissing her gaunt cheeks.

    Her father hovered over her in distress, the sight of her ravaged body disemboweling him again. He had never, ever, felt so helpless, so full of pain. His cherished daughter, his gentle little lamb, lay dying, and he could only stand by and weep.

    The house began to fill with family and friends as the news shot through the city. Panic filled Jairus. Then it occurred to him that there was still a ray of hope: to find the prophet Jesus from Nazareth.

    Jairus was a man of some reputation and stature. He was a synagogue official in charge of overseeing the services and work of the synagogue, a man who ordinarily conducted His affairs with solemn dignity.

    But his grief over his daughter had stripped him of any such contrivances. When he learned Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee and was in his city, he eagerly searched Him out. Jesus wasn’t hard to find, surrounded as He was by a crush of people electrified by the miracles. Jairus made his way to Jesus, fell at the feet of the Christ, ignored the crowd, and begged for his daughter’s life.

    Jesus consented to go with him. They headed toward Jairus’ home, jostled by a crowd pressing Jesus for their own miracles.

    On the way, Jesus suddenly stopped and asked who had touched Him. This was an odd question. People were everywhere. Everyone wanted to be healed.

    Then a woman, trembling in joy and fear, came forward and confessed to touching His garment. She had been completely healed by the power that flowed from Him.

    While she rejoiced with her Deliverer, Jairus waited in agony.

    These short moments taken to restore one person kept Jesus from the bedside of the lamb who lay dying.

    Before Jesus could finish speaking to her, messengers arrived with the news that Jairus’ daughter was dead, striking fear in his heart as they destroyed the hope to which he clung.

    It’s too late. Don’t trouble the Teacher anymore.

    Then God spoke into his despair. “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”

    Jesus dismissed the crowd. He took three disciples and came to the house of Jairus, where the mourning had already begun. Jesus told them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.”

    The wails of grief quickly gave way to derision. Jesus sent them away.

    Then He took his three disciples and the girl’s parents to the room where the girl lay. He took her hand and said, “Talitha kum.” Talitha is the feminine form of the Aramaic word “lamb.” “Kum” means “arise.”

    Lamb, arise.

    In one moment, a family in torment was restored. That which was impossible with man was accomplished with just a word from the Savior.

    Of all the miracles Jesus performed during His earthly ministry, He must have especially loved reuniting children with their families. This, after all, was the very picture of His purpose for dying on Golgotha. He came from heaven entrusted with one mission, to reunite Father God with His fallen creation, the children dead in their sins and for whom He grieved deeply. It was, and is, His great joy to enter the house of the dead and awaken us to new life with the words to which unbelief must always bow:

    Lamb, arise.

     

  • Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.

    – 2 Chronicles 20:9

    A multitude of enemy warriors marched to war against the tribe of Judah.

    They slipped around the Dead Sea and caught the people of God by surprise, making it as far as Engedi before they were spotted and reported to King Jehoshaphat.

    Jehoshaphat knew that his army could not stand before the combined armies of his enemies. Distressed, he turned to God, proclaiming a fast in Judah and assembling all the people to the house of God. His prayer is memorialized in Chronicles for the generations after to him who face an overpowering evil force. He ended his entreaty with these touching words: “Our eyes are on You.”

    God answered the king with a plan for battle that has become the blueprint for generations of His people to come:

    -Do not fear or be dismayed. (v. 15)

    -The battle is God’s. (v.15)

    -Hold your position on the battlefield. (v. 17)

    -Trust God. (v.20)

    -Offer the thanksgiving of praise. (v. 21-22)

    -Stand and see the salvation of the LORD. (v. 17)

    King Jehoshaphat did all God had commanded. His army went down to the battleground, stood before the amassed armies of their enemies, and sang praises to God. They did not fight, and they did not run before the threat of certain defeat. They did not study the enemy or count the number of weapons and men arrayed before them. They kept their eyes off the battleground and on their Captain.

    They held their position, trusted God, faced down fear, and sang His praises.

    True to God’s word, He destroyed the enemy by setting them against themselves, so that they were all destroyed without Judah’s army raising one hand in battle.

    When Satan sets a trap for you, and you find yourself facing certain destruction, remember God’s promise to Judah.

    Your enemy may be too strong for you, but this isn’t your battle.

    This is God’s war, and it’s personal.

    Your God will fight for you. Look up, for your deliverance is coming.

     

  • Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts,

    Whose name is the LORD, and exult before Him.

    – Psalm 68:4

    A new year usually begins with hope and promise set against the backdrop of winter.

    My new year began in the heat of a blistering emotional desert. People I love are in pain, and their torment has scorched my soul. Day after weary day has stretched on with no relief in sight and only endless wilderness before us. Hope has slowly soured in my belly as my desperate prayers are met with silence. Waves of fear wash over me in the night as I frantically seek God before falling into a fitful sleep.

    In the gray dawn of another day, I am spent. I can pray no more. There are no more words I can say, no entreaty with which to reach my Master. As the night shadows fade before the rising sun, I arise and pad heavily into the breakfast nook with a cup of coffee. There I open my Bible.

    In the space between darkness and light, I need to hear His voice.

    This morning I find Psalm 68, a powerful image of a God who does not sit impartially in the heavens glaring down at his frail creation. Here, I find a God who rides through the desert as conqueror. Once again, I am reminded no pit is too deep for Him, no problem too hard for Him, no trial too hot for Him.

    O God, when You went forth before Your people,

    When You marched through the wilderness,

    The earth quaked;

    The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God.

    – Psalm 68:7-8

    Throughout this song of David, God addresses every situation of our lives that makes us feel lost and in need of a savior. He reminds us He is a father to the fatherless, an advocate for the widows, a home for the lonely, a deliverer for those in any kind of bondage, and a provider to the poor.

    Through the wilderness He marches as the victor. Before His majesty the earth quakes and the armies of hell flee. In His presence the heavens open, and life-giving rain quenches our barrenness. In our worst of times, He reminds us of His promises.

    You confirmed your inheritance when it was parched.

    – Psalm 68:9

    Fearsome as He is to His enemies, the King comes to His sheepfold as a precious and pure dove, a gentle Shepherd and Comforter to His people.

    When You lie down among the sheepfolds,

    You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,

    And its pinions with glistening gold.

    – Psalm 68:13

    Once again, I am in awe.

    Victory doesn’t come because we tough out trial. It doesn’t come because we pray the right prayers, sing the right songs, or attend the right church. We are saved because we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, Ruler of heaven and earth.

    Dawn is rising.

  • Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.

    – Romans 12:19

    The person on the other end of the phone line needed my last name.

    When I gave it to him, he paused before asking, “Are you Japanese?”

    I nearly laughed out loud at the question. He wasn’t even close.

    My maiden name is Prussian, a distinctly ethnic and confounding mix of letters that caused endless confusion for others as I grew up. I’m proud of my name, because my father was a local celebrity and a well-respected figure in the community. When I married my Scandinavian husband, though, taking on the name Thorson was a relief of sorts. It was much easier to pronounce and spell.

    With the current cultural fascination with mythical gods, our last Norwegian surname has become cool. The Thor of recent movie fame is handsome and powerful. He rights wrongs. He’s the guy you want to have on your side.

    Like the other superheroes of myth, he’s also prone to eccentricities and faults. That’s because he’s a figment of human imagination. Like all idols, Thor is a god made in our own image. We can’t construct a perfect deity, because we don’t understand perfection. We don’t comprehend unconditional love. We can’t fathom pure justice.

    Contrary to the claims of secularists, the real God isn’t a creation of the human mind.

    He’s so high above us, so powerful and righteous and holy, we can’t even begin to construct such a God. Our study of His creation, His Word, and His story reveals a murky vignette of His glory.

    We will only fully understand when we stand before His throne on that great day He is revealed to humanity in all His glory.

    Until then, we must accept His wisdom and leading by faith. We must trust Him when life gets hard. We must remember, when we see brokenness all around us, that He will make all things right. One day He will avenge all wrongs, dry every tear, and deliver the afflicted. He never acts out of evil motives. He is jealous with a godly jealousy for His beloved and fiercely protects His own.

    Who wants to trust in a myth when the real Avenger is at the door?

     

    A jealous and avenging God is the Lord;
    The Lord is avenging and wrathful.
    The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries,
    And He reserves wrath for His enemies.

    – Nahum 1:2

  • Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

    – Matthew 11:29 NKJV

    Decades ago, when my husband and I were new Christians, a series of small and incidental “signs” convinced us a windfall was coming our way.

    We shared this belief with a few people, who were instantly skeptical. But we were undeterred, sure God had spoken to us.

    When the bounty never arrived, we were a little embarrassed and a lot confused. How could we ever possibly learn to know the difference between God’s voice and other voices in our lives? That first lesson was a painful one as we realized how naïve we were. Thankfully, we discovered it does get easier to recognize what is from God and what isn’t.

    We’re still learning because we’re just human.

    One of the most beautiful features of the face of faith is the desire to learn the ways of God. It is the willingness to admit our failures and remember their lessons that marks the mature man and woman of God.

    Growing in faith is a process that never ends on this side of heaven.

    It requires us to balance hope with common sense; to humble ourselves enough to learn from others and admit our mistakes.

    Our greatest source of wisdom is God’s Word. It is the inspired text from which we sit at the feet of God. Other important resources are trusted friends, pastors and teachers, parents, siblings, church and parachurch activities, Godly music, and books.

    Maturity involves honest introspection and the willingness to learn from our mistakes (and successes). The Spirit of God is our greatest teacher and the One who will never lead us down the wrong path. But sometimes it’s hard to discern His voice above the noise in our head and around us. The Bible encourages us to keep listening and trying because we are trained by practice.

    Getting up and falling.

    And getting up again.

    God understands our weaknesses. He wants us to hear Him. He is a patient teacher.

     

    But solid food is for the mature,

    who because of practice have their senses trained

    to discern good and evil.

    -Hebrews 5:14

  • And those who know Your name trust in You,

    For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

    – Psalm 9:10

    A frigid cold descended in the night upon the river valley.

    The next morning, a deceptively innocent breath of frost kissed the new deck outside the front door. A toddler and his dad stepped out of the house, the boy bouncing enthusiastically on ahead of his father.

    As the boy’s feet hit the ice, his little legs splayed out in opposite directions. Unable to catch his balance, he slipped and slid all over the deck. But he did not fall, he did not cry, and he wasn’t afraid.

    He knew he’d be all right.

    His father had a firm hold on his hands as he danced and laughed and skated across the danger to the safety of the gravel driveway beyond the deck.

    Trust is a beautiful thing.

    It’s a gift we give someone who has earned the right to ask for it. It’s the bond between two people who have a history between them. Trust is hard-won and easily lost. I believe that’s why God loves it so much when we show Him we trust Him with our lives.

    Tremble, and do not sin;

    Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still.

    Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,

    And trust in the LORD.

    – Psalm 4:4-5

    The Lord understands how hard it is to trust what we can’t see.

    At His resurrection from the dead, He told the doubting Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (John 20:29)

    There are several Greek words used in the New Testament to indicate blessing. The one used in John 20:29 is makarios, which is most closely linked to the English word “happy.” Trusting in others or ourselves will inevitably lead to sorrow, because humanity is flawed. Searching for security in money or possessions or power will fail us, as well, because all those things are temporary. God is the only safe place for us. He has promised He will not abandon those who run to Him.

    As a new year dawns, many of us carry the sorrows and struggles of an old year into the next. Danger lurks in a world filled with evil. This is a good time to take a mental pilgrimage back to the many times God has held our hands as we slipped and slid through the frigid seasons of our lives. Each time we’ve fallen, he’s lifted us up. Every time we safely navigated another trial, it was because we reached for His arms. As we enter a new season, may we have the trust to hang on tightly to Him.

    Not only will we be safe, we will be happy.

     

     …indeed,

    we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves,

    but in God who raises the dead….

    – 2 Corinthians 1:9

     

     

  • Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

    As in obeying the voice of the LORD?

    Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice….

    – 1 Samuel 15:22

    The Old Testament prophet Samuel visited King Saul soon after he was set into power as king of Israel.

    Samuel arrived to deliver a command from God to go up against the Amalekites and destroy them completely. God instructed Saul to destroy everything belonging to them, as well.

    Saul did obey as far as taking his army up to the city of Amalek. There he defeated them. But he spared the life of the Amalekite king Agag and the best of the livestock in the city. The victory degenerated into a looting spree as the men saved what they liked and destroyed the rest.

    When God sent Samuel back to confront Saul over his disobedience, Saul explained his motives were pure. He had simply saved the best of the flocks to sacrifice to God.

    Samuel’s reply?

    To obey is better than sacrifice.

    The prophet then told Saul, “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:23)

    Disobedience against God places another god above Him.

    It makes us the judge of the Lord’s wisdom and is inherently anti-Christ in nature. It’s sobering, then, to realize God equates our disobedience with witchcraft.

    Conversely, it’s fascinating to read the exploits of believers in Hebrews 11 and see what God describes as acts of faith. In every instance, God honored those who listened to Him, believed in His promises, and were willing to obey what He told them to do.

    Here, then, is the next quality of faith:

    The willingness to obey.

    In Luke 6:46-49, Jesus rebuked those who called Him “Lord” but didn’t obey His commands. He compared an obedient follower with a man who built his house upon a rock. This house, Jesus said, would stand firm against the storms that came against it.

    On the other hand, a rebellious person was like the man who built his house on the sand. This house would fall when besieged by life’s trials.

    Obedience isn’t about following the rules. It’s not even about compliance.

    Obedience is the active response of an open heart to the voice of its beloved master.

    There is nothing fake or feigned here. It engages all the qualities of trust and love and humility as we place our own will on the altar. It’s symbolized by a house built on a rock because it is the proof of our faith in Christ, the Rock that will never crumble beneath us when the going gets rough.

    As always, God’s commands are meant to build us up and protect us. By walking in obedience to Christ, we live in victory over every circumstance of life.

     

  • It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

    And to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High

    – Psalm 92:1

    God doesn’t need our thanks.

    If we were to walk through an open door to heaven as the apostle John did in a vision during his imprisonment on Patmos, we wouldn’t find a forlorn father sitting by the phone awaiting a call from his kids. John’s glimpse into that other dimension revealed a royal residence filled with glory.

    There a throne encircled by an emerald rainbow sits upon a sea of crystal glass. Lightning and thunder emanate from the presence of a King so beautiful and precious He can only be described in jewel tones. Around His throne wondrous living creatures and many thousands of angels lift their voices in continual praise to the Sovereign of the Universe.

    God doesn’t need our thanks.

    And yet, throughout Scripture we are encouraged, commanded, and entreated to be thankful. It’s not because God needs our attention. He’s no egotist.

    He knows thankfulness is good for us. A heart full of praise has no room for envy, jealousy, or strife. When we are busy praising God, it’s harder to hear the bitter whisperings of the devil or the grumblings of a tired soul.

    Praise guards us, guides us, and strengthens us. A grateful heart honors our Father, who has done so much for us. Gratitude purifies us. It draws others to our precious Lord. Living in an attitude of praise frees us and lifts us out of the bony clutches of all that would keep us forever tethered to the old life.

    God doesn’t need our thanks, but He deserves it.

    I want to be more appreciative of Him, to live in the joy of remembering all I have been given, even when life gets difficult. From every breath to every gift small and great, there is much for which to thank my God. If I were to consider each kindness my Heavenly Father has granted me, my days would be consumed in His praise. It’s a shame I have relegated so much of my gratitude to one day a year.

    As the season of Thanksgiving approaches once again, this is my prayer:

    To awaken and thank God for the gift of life and good health, asking God to help me pray more for those who are suffering from illness and pain.

    To eat dinner and thank God for the gifts of my home and a full refrigerator, asking God to help me be more generous with my possessions to those who endure hunger and cold.

    To watch football and thank God for the gift of family, asking God to help me be more loving to them.

    To go to church and thank God for the gifts of freedom of worship and fellowship, asking God to help me be a better citizen to my neighbors and a gentler sister in the Lord to my precious friends.

    To look upon the earth and thank God for His creation, entreating Him to reveal Himself to those who live each day without the knowledge and comfort of His love.

    To raise my eyes to heaven and remember that even though He doesn’t need our thanks, He longs for us and and the expression of appreciation that marks a good relationship.

    To determine to fill every day of every year with heartfelt praise to the God from Whom all blessings flow, that my song may be added to the eternal voices worshiping such a magnificent King.

     

    Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen

    – Revelation 7:12

     

  • If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

    – Galatians 1:10

    The Scriptures tell us it is impossible to please God without faith.

    But how does pleasing God present evidence of our faith to a dying world?

    In Hebrews 11, the “faith chapter” describes acts of faith recorded in the Bible and defines faith as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Since our faith is the concrete evidence of the unseen world, let’s continue to examine what that evidence might look like. This week we look at the image of faith, as expressed by a second quality:

    A desire to please God.

    The longing to do what pleases Him comes from the active work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as He cleanses our heart and directs us upward. We no longer find pleasure in serving ourselves and sin. Our joy is now found in honoring our Father in heaven and our Lord Jesus. The concrete outflow of that heart change is seen in our actions and words.

    How do we please God?

    1. Believe He exists.

    2. Trust that He will honor and reward our search for Him.

    3. Learn what He asks of us in His Word.

    4. Respond accordingly.

    In 1 Thessalonians 4:1-4, Paul issued a plea to the Christians to strive to please God with their lives, and he particularly addressed the issue of purity.

    Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor….

    A clean heart is God’s gift to us through the sacrifice of His Son. Living to please Him is our gift back to Him. It is the outward expression of an inward change, evidence for all to witness.

     

    Without faith it is impossible to please Him,

    for he who comes to God must believe He is

    and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

    – Hebrews 11:6

     

  • Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

    – Matthew 5:6

     

    Ask a Christian what the word “faith” means, and you’re likely to hear a quote from the Bible.

    Most of us know at least part of the King James version of Hebrews 11:1, which tells us faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”     

    In a court of law, a conviction or acquittal is based upon the evidence brought before the jury. The Bible assures us our faith is the evidence of an unseen world and its promises. But faith itself has an ethereal quality about it, and we often simply equate it with the idea of believing. But faith is not just belief. It is the expression of our belief before God and man. In James 2:17, we learn faith without works is dead.

    So then, what does faith look like?

    In the next few weeks, we’ll examine some qualities painting the portrait of a believer. Since taking the first step toward God often comes out of a place of emptiness, this might be our first piece of evidence:

    A thirst for righteousness.

    In the beatitudes given to us by the Lord Jesus on the mountain, He called those “blessed” (happy, fortunate, blissful) who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The deep craving for a relationship with God drives us to the well that both cleanses and fills us. The search to know Him should be relentless and lifelong and revealed in what we think, say, and do.

    This search will put us in direct opposition to the societal “norms” imposed today:

    The pressure to fit in by dressing and talking like those we want to impress.

    The relaxation of sexual inhibitions, mocking of those who choose to remain pure.

    The assault on our values though today’s movies, television, social media, and music.

    Choosing to run after God forces us to make choices putting our faith on display to others. It will reveal the unseen to the unseeing, and some will not like it. We may lose friends, family members, and more in the process. The first lesson we learn, then, is that faith is not without cost. But the gain far outweighs the price of discipleship.

     

    But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

    – Romans 10:7-9

     

  • God said, ‘Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him.’

    – Psalm 91:14

    She was well-dressed, beautiful, and accomplished.

    She had just flown across the country to teach at a conference and looked fully the part.

    Sharp. Witty. Color-coordinated.

    And she may have left with that image safely in place, except that she happened to be introduced to a group of women who had been through loss too terrible to imagine: the death of a child. These brave women had come together to write their stories, and as each shared her individual loss, the corporate pain was palpable. The tears flowed freely, and the walls of brave faces came down, heartbreak made holy by the faith with which they faced each day.

    The speaker sat and listened, eyes red. It was then she shared the depth of her own pain, the desperation of her own losses exposed by this gentle fellowship of suffering.

    Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Despair, it seems, is a common, if unspoken, condition of the human soul. On the field of pain, we are all equals.

    But God has not intended for us to stay there, because we are not meant to lead lives of quiet desperation. Desperation should be, instead, the thorn in the flesh that drives us to our knees in search of God. He has promised that we will find Him when we search Him out with all our hearts. Sorrow turns a complacent heart into a seeking heart.

    Despair, as the Psalmist discovered, it is the schoolmaster to lead us to hope.

     This concept is so powerful he expressed it three times in the space of two Psalms:

    Why are you in despair, O my soul?

    And why have you become disturbed within me?

    Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him

    For the help of His presence.

    – Psalm 42:5,11;43:5

    Psalm 62:11 tells us, “Once God has spoken; Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God.” In Psalms 42 and 43 we read not once, not twice, but three times that we should question the power of despair over us. We should fight for hope, look for deliverance, and praise Him in all things.

    Are you in despair?

    He sees it. He hears your prayers in the night. Power is His, and you are His. Hope in God, for you will again praise Him for His restoration.

     

  • Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song,

    And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.

    – Psalm 149:1

    An Age under Judgment

    A 2014 Fox News poll reported fifty-eight percent of voters polled in the U. S. believe the world is, in their words, “going to hell in a handbasket.”* As we reel from the unrelenting wave of murders, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, protests, and political intrigue, it’s not hard to agree.

    But while this age and its works are under judgment, Christ has come to free us. Society may be coming apart at the seams, but God holds all things together while His plan for humanity is revealed. As history unfolds, He has not forsaken us. He delivers, protects, upholds, comforts, strengthens, and guards us.

    He gives us a song to sing.

    And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.’

    – Revelation 5:9

    While the world fosters and exploits our differences, Jesus Christ reaches into every nation and ethnicity to bring together a redeemed family of brothers and sisters dwelling under His sovereignty. Creation groans under the weight of sin and death, but God’s people can rejoice in the face of trial, because we have a Deliverer and a hope.

    Satan hates the sound of this new song, so much so that he feverishly works to silence our worship. He gives us every reason to doubt God. He whispers in our ears God is uncaring and harsh. He twists our perception of the trials in our lives to make us resentful of our Heavenly Father.

    Satan paints the portrait of God as a petty and capricious deity, hanging it in the hallway of our minds.

    It is a lie, a deception. It is a travesty to the heart of a gracious Savior.

    If nothing else good should happen to us except salvation, it is enough to fill our every moment with His praise. If we live destitute, forgotten by men and angels, it is still enough.

    Jesus will always be enough.

    When life is sweet, give God the glory. When it is bitter, remember all that is good, and sing His praise. In the day and through the night, fight any internal or external pressures to still your voice.

    Sing on.

     

    I will remember my song in the night.

    – Psalm 77:6

     

    *http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/10/15/fox-news-poll-as-election-nears-voters-say-things-are-going-to-hell-in.html

  • Jesus said, ‘If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’

    – Matthew 17:20

    All I remember is a small room filled with people and a sour-faced doctor.

    I can’t tell you what the room looked like, or who was in it besides me, my husband, our eldest son, and the doctor in charge of the unit in which our middle son lay on life support. Kevin had been injured during a trip to Canada, and we had driven twelve hours through the night to be at his side. He was conscious and alert, but paralyzed from the neck down.

    We had barely sat down to this consultation when the doctor launched into a recitation of all the “nevers” our son faced. He told us Kevin would never breathe on his own, never move his body below his chin or shoulders, and never return to his home. He could not even return to a hospital in the States, because no doctor in the States would take him as a patient, no airline would consent to fly him, and no medical team would accompany him. Even if we could arrange all that, the cost would be prohibitive.

    Kevin could not leave Canada, we were told, and he could not stay in Canada. The only other choice was to pull the plug on the ventilator keeping our son alive. We were given no hope. There was no way forward.

    That was twenty years ago. Our son has been home in Idaho since he left a rehabilitation hospital seven weeks after the initial injury. He breathes on his own except to sleep at night. He moves his entire body to one degree or another. He can walk, exercise, and use a computer with help.

    Every day he lives the impossible, because he serves a God who loves to do the impossible.

    Life is still hard, and our family often faces new mountains in this journey. But we have learned several important principles to follow when the way forward seems blocked.

    Resist the temptation to find an easier path.

    But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

    – Philippians 3:13-14

    Death would have been the easy way out for our son. It has been much harder for him to choose life and walk a difficult but rewarding path of daily deliverance. Doing what’s right is always the first step forward.

    Listen for God’s voice.

    Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

    – Isaiah 30:21

    It’s pointless to try to solve our own problems without God’s direction. He alone knows the way, and He is eager to lead us, even when we feel abandoned.

    Be patient.

    But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

    – James 1:4

    Deliverance is often a step-by-step process. Just take one step at a time, and let God do the heavy lifting to clear your path.

    Submit to God’s sovereign plan.

    Submit therefore to God.

    – James 4:7

    Sometimes the path we are sure is the correct one turns out to be a dead end, because God has a different journey mapped out for us. God is a good father, and He knows what we need.

    Trust Him.

    Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    And do not lean on your own understanding.

    In all your ways acknowledge Him,

    And He will make your paths straight.

    – Proverbs 3:5-6

    He is worthy of our trust. And if we follow Him even in times of the greatest pain, He will take us safely to our destination.

     

  • Jesus said, ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

    I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’

    – John 10:10

    Trouble comes in waves, hitting you when you least expect it. 

    The dog gets sick, the transmission falls out of the car, an unexpected doctor bill comes due, and a dear friend posts a nasty Facebook comment about you –sometimes all in the space of a day. A series of traumatic events threaten to drive you over the edge. Sometimes, it’s the constant drip of small annoyances piled upon a mountain of duty that pushes you toward a meltdown.

    In the shadows of the mayhem descending upon you on any given day, a thief lurks at your door. If you live in a city, this may literally be true. But the thief I’m talking about is an unseen enemy, and the window he’s trying to break is the one that opens into your soul.

    What is he looking for? He wants to steal your joy.

    If you are a believer, Satan has already lost you to eternity. You are written in the Lamb’s book of life and sealed with the Holy Spirit forever. The enemy can’t take your soul. He is a created being under judgment. His goal now is to hurt God by inflicting as much damage as possible in the time he has left and to keep as many people as possible from salvation.

    Satan hates anything or anyone that reflects the image of God.

    He plots and plans with his minions to harass and hurt the whole of creation, and to torment believers specifically.

    Like most dwellings, our faith-house, this temple of God, is less secure in some places than in others, because we still dwell in mortal bodies subject to temptation. We all have weaknesses the enemy exploits to gain access to our emotions and derail our walk with God. Our adversary prowls around looking for any weak areas in our faith. For some, illness is our challenge. Others break down under the stress of financial problems. Every one of us has a window or a door that groans against the lock.

    Beloved, Christ wants more for us than to exist in pieces, torn by constant crisis.

    The key to victory in our lives is not to rid ourselves of trials. It’s remembering when hardship hits, it’s just Satan rattling a doorknob. If we can separate ourselves from the emotion of the moment, we can learn the proper response to the threat by leaning onto God.

    Ultimately, everything that happens to believers is God’s tool to strengthen our faith and purify our motives. We are promised in God’s Word if we resist Satan, he will flee like an intruder caught in beam of the watchman’s light.

    So stand firm. Stay alert and keep the door of your heart locked against the night. Do not crumble when the doorknob rattles. Guard your joy.

     

  • Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?

     – Jeremiah 32:27

    Across the United States, nature has been on a rampage.

    A series of earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes have wreaked havoc on many communities this summer. In August, the sky briefly turned to dusk as the moon danced before the sun and stole his glory. For a few minutes, the air chilled in the semi-darkness created by the eclipse, our reminder of just how fragile we sit in space. A slight variation in the amount of sunlight our planet receives would be catastrophic for us. Too little, and we would freeze. Too much, and we would fry.

    And yet, in this whole universe, we happen to be positioned at the perfect distance from the sun to support life here. Our atmosphere happens to have the right mix of gasses for breathing and shields us from most of the harmful radiation from space. The earth happens to have the right amount of gravity to hold everything together without crushing us.

    We happen to be uniquely equipped for Earth. Earth happens to be uniquely equipped to sustain us.

    Our bodies happen to be so perfectly fine-tuned even a tiny change in body chemistry or function can cause illness or death. A single atom contains enough power to destroy a city. Yet we are comprised of many atoms united to form tissue and organs and systems working together in harmony. The body is even programed to strive to maintain a certain state of well-being known as homeostasis.

    Scientists have spent their entire careers studying one small function of the universe, and still understand so little of it. The intricacies of our world take great minds and complicated math to explain, yet the entire collective knowledge of all recorded history can’t plumb the depths of creation. The whole of our intellect combined can’t answer our most basic questions:

    How did we get here? Why are we here?

    We have lived so long in the mystery, we no longer wonder at the design.

    We dwell without gratitude in the providence of a benevolent Designer. We breathe in the perfectly mixed air into our exquisite lungs without a single breath of thanks.

    Our world displays the power and intelligence, beauty and sensitivity, ferocity and tenderness of a great being. If we have learned anything, we should have learned He is so far above us. We demean Him when we question His ability and desire to care for us.

    God holds the universe together, and we can’t trust Him with our paychecks, our homes, our families, or our health. At the first signs of turmoil in our lives, our first question is not to ask how we can glorify Him in our trials, but to demand the reason He is being so cruel to us.

    Why do we do this? Have we have fashioned a god in our own image, one who is capricious, petty, and vain instead of using our circumstances to grow in faith and get to know Him better? Who is this God we serve?

    Isn’t it time we found out?

     

    Ah Lord GOD!

    Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power

    and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.

    – Jeremiah 32:17

     

  • So it will be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

    – Luke 17:30 (English Standard Version)

    Add -pocalypse or -mageddon to any event and create your own disaster.

    The Long Range Weather Forecast published by The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2017 accurately predicted a bitter winter last year, which dumped so much snow on the country it inspired the Snowpocalypse festival in Milwaukee, Snowpocalypse survivor badges in Boise, and its own Twitter hashtag #snowmageddon. In keeping with our national compulsion to turn every personal victory or trial into a meme, we can now add  -mageddon or -pocalypse to a catastrophe for an over-the-top event to post on our favorite social media outlet.

    Maybe we do it to thumb our noses at tribulation that comes into our lives.

    Maybe we just like drama.

    When you hear the word “apocalypse,” do you think of nuclear war, zombies, or superheroes? Perhaps you envision meteors falling from the sky or the moon turning to blood.

    Do you cringe at the thought of the end of the world? Are you fearful of what that could mean? Or is all that kind of talk just foolishness to you?

    Meriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines apocalypse as “a great disaster,” which is the common usage of the word today.

    We get our English word “apocalypse,” however, from the Greek word apokalupsis, meaning “to reveal.” An apocalypse is a revelation, the uncovering of something hidden. It is used in several places in the New Testament, but most notably in the title of the last book of the Bible. It is often called Revelation, but the true title is The Revelation of Jesus Christ, or The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ.

    Although the final book of the Bible may be considered one of the most difficult to understand, it is the only book of the Bible promising a blessing to those who read it and take its message to heart. Much of the book describes the judgments poured out upon an unrepentant world, but God inspired it as both a warning and a promise. The warning is for those who reject Christ. The promise is for those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and await His coming.

    For now, Christ is hidden from the eyes of man. Those who believe in Him see Him with eyes of faith. Very soon, Christ will be revealed in all His glory to both believer and unbeliever. He will return to earth to claim her back and restore her. He will set up a millennial reign in which righteousness lives, and afterward an eternity of joy for those who love him.

    The revelation of Christ is only a fearful thing for those who have lived without Him.

    The tribulation of those days is clearly described as a time of God’s wrath (Revelation 11:18; 16:1), and believers are promised we have been delivered from the day of His wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).

    The end of this world is coming. But if that’s all you think apocalypse means, you have an awakening in store for you. The end will only be the beginning, revelation ushering in a genesis. The door is still open to a life without end, where every tear is dried and we will dwell with God and His people forever.

    Jesus is coming. Things are about to become…

    Apocalyptic.

     

  • For to which of the angels did God ever say: ‘You are my Son; today I have become Your Father’? Or again: ‘I will be His Father, and He will be My Son’?

    – Hebrews 1:5 (Berean Study Bible)

    God couldn’t have said it much plainer than in Hebrews 1:5.

    The question is rhetorical, with God assuming the reader will understand the answer is, “There is no angel whom the Lord has called His Son.” This passage is one meant to address the dilemma posed to the first century Christians, but it is one whom every person must answer in his own heart:

    Who is the Messiah?

    Jesus didn’t come as they expected. He arrived when the Jewish people were eager to throw off the rule of Rome and govern themselves. Expectancy electrified the air with the belief the promised Anointed One would soon establish His kingdom forever and bring deliverance to His people.

    That is exactly what Jesus Christ did. But Israel looked for an earthly ruler to force his will upon their oppressors from without. The Christ came to destroy the oppressor from within. Only Jesus understood the enemy was one much more insidious and deadly than mere Roman soldiers. God’s weapons of warfare were unconventional and infinitely more powerful, because the battle He came to fight was one of cosmic importance.

    In the bloody battle for the planet, only one person would die.

    Then He rose again, with the keys to death and life in His hand.

    Jesus the Christ is neither mere man nor angel.

    In the first chapter of John, we learn Jesus existed in eternity as the Word, co-equal with God. He is as far above the angels as an artist is above his creation. Angels are beings who serve God and His people. They do not have the divine nature of God.

    Religious groups have seriously erred when they have attempted to either relegate Jesus to angel status or elevate angels to brotherhood with him. This is a dangerous doctrine, because it denies the very essence of Christ.

    As the Son of God, the Word, the second person of the Trinity, poured out Himself into a human vessel. He came to win back what we lost at the garden. In His humanity, Jesus Christ inherited the name of the Almighty and a kingdom.

    Satan, once the highest of angels, envies the majesty of God and plots to take His throne. But he will never have it, because he, too, is a creation of God and powerless against Him.

    Some days, it may feel like the devil has the upper hand against you. Be sure that the battle is very real. But God didn’t trust the gospel to a mere creation.

    He sent Jesus.

     

    So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs.” 

    – Hebrews 1:4 (Berean Study Bible)

  • The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and remarkable Day of the Lord comes.

    – Acts 2:20 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

    They came from around the world, transfixed by the spectacle.

    They filled motels, jammed the highways, and staked their claim on a piece of history as a rare total solar eclipse turned millions of people heavenward in the United States.

    For a few brief hours on Monday, America looked to the skies. August 21, 2017, made headlines as the date of the first total eclipse since 1918 to cross the United States from sea to sea. Its path of totality fell within the United States alone for the first time since the year of America’s independence in 1776. It brought together scientists, school children, families, new-agers, religious folks, atheists, and conspiracy theorists on the nation’s lawns as we donned our solar glasses and enjoyed the show.

    One small act from God.

    One giant message for mankind.

    Events like this remind the thinking man of his fragile existence in a vast universe.

    Humanity sits on a planet delicately balanced between a blazing star and the deep cold void. If we were any closer to the sun, we would burn up. Any farther away, and we would freeze. We sit in the perfect spot for an earth full of people to live and grow and flourish, largely indifferent to our dependence upon Him as we take His providence for granted.

    It is only by the mercy of the Creator that “we live and move and exist.” (Acts 17:28) The Bible tells us that Jesus, as the Word of God, “existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.” -Colossians 1:17 (New Living Translation) Hebrews 1:3 reminds us that Jesus Christ is “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.”

    God speaks, and life springs up where there was only emptiness. He speaks, and our world is shaken. God warns us a day of judgment is coming, a day so terrible men will be “fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” -Luke 21:26.

    In that day, we won’t be eating watermelon and relaxing with our solar glasses in the grass. Those who have not gone to be with God in heaven will face unimaginable suffering as God purifies the world of evil and calls out a remnant for Him.

    Because our suffering causes God pain, He waits for any who still might come to Him before the great and remarkable day of the Lord.

    If you were impressed with the show in the sky this week, get to know the Creator behind this amazing display of beauty and power. Take that step forward toward deliverance from destruction and everlasting life.

    One small step for man.

    One giant leap for eternity.

     

  • Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.

    – Hebrews 3:1

    Some days we can barely hear it. Other days it drives us to our knees.

    But it’s always there, a persistent tug in our souls. Whether we trudge through our days or chase the stars of fame and fortune, we can’t drown out the cry in the pit of our being, jarring us with its urgency and moving us with its tears.

    Heaven is calling.

    In his letter to the Jewish community, the writer of the book of Hebrews addressed a large group comprised of both believers in Christ and those who may have been drawn to the message of the Messiah but had not committed their lives to Him. Then and today, it speaks powerfully to the earnest seeker of eternal life, both Jewish and Gentile.

    The letter presents a powerful case for the preeminence of Christ over Moses. It describes His priesthood over the children of God, and it explains how the Messiah fulfilled the old covenant with His people, instituting a new one written in His blood. In Hebrews 11, the stirring “faith chapter,” he explains the concept of faith, recounts the exploits of the Old Testament heroes and heroines of faith, and challenges the reader to join its ranks.

    To each of us, he presents his case for Christ and issues this call:  Consider Jesus.

    If you’ve never believed in Him, it’s crucial to understand His claims and consider the God-man Jesus Christ before you shut down the voice in your soul. You need to know this Man. Whether you are rich or poor, well or suffering, feeling loved or alone, if you don’t know Him, you are lost. You live in peril for your soul, and His is an urgent call to eternal life with Him.

    If you already know Him, you realize Jesus takes seriously your decision to follow Him. Your moment of salvation was not the endpoint but the genesis of a new life, opening the door to an adventure culminating in full revelation on the day you stand before His majesty. Then you will fully understand what you once accepted by faith.

    Until that day, God continues to call you deeper and deeper into the hard lessons and rich abundance of His grace. He challenges you to live stronger for Him. In every trial, every joy, every step of this life, you will move forward toward the sound of His call deep in your soul.

    If you take the time to consider Jesus in every decision you make and with every breath you take, victory will always be yours.

     

  • Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

    – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

    My father lay propped up in the hospital bed, his face ashen against the white sheets.

    My stepmother and I huddled around him in the cramped space of the progressive care unit in which he recuperated. He had suffered three heart attacks in the space of one month. None of us had slept much in the last few days. So far, we had seen little of either the hospitalist in charge of his care or the cardiologist on staff.

    We waited all day for the cardiologist. Finally, he appeared, towering above us in his long white lab coat. His aggressive stance, scowl, stethoscope dangling around his neck kept us adequately reminded of his importance as he recited the results of Dad’s tests in rapid-fire secession.

    Mentally, he had already left the room for the next patient.

    When he took a breath, I ventured a question about one of my father’s lab results. Angered that I dare speak, he shot me down in a spray of loud verbal bullets. I was embarrassed into shocked silence.

    I drove home from the hospital totally disheartened, my humiliation churning into anger as the weight of the last month’s struggles crashed down upon me.

    Since I had missed lunch, I turned into a local fast-food restaurant and eased into the line at the drive thru. Ahead of me sat a big white four-wheel drive pickup with huge tires. Behind the wheel sat a young Native American man in sunglasses. Emblazoned across the tinted back window of his rig were the words, “REZNECKS.” I smiled, having lived on the reservation for most of my life. The knot in my stomach began to ease as I waited impatiently to get back on the road toward home and my refuge.

    When my turn finally came to pick up my meal, the server was beaming. “I have the pleasure of telling you that the man in the white pickup ahead of you has paid for your meal,” she said. “He just wanted me to tell you to have a good day.”

    What a beautiful God we serve. I cried all the way home.

    Our English word encourage comes from the French word encoragier, which means to make strong or to impart courage.

    In a world that values aggression, God calls us to kindness. As the conduit connecting God to His beloved creation, our job in this space in time is to inspire others to greatness. We hold in our hands the power to bring renewed hope to others who are having the life choked out of them. One generous moment can rebuild someone’s world and impart the courage to go on another day.

    Yes, I paid for the meal of the man in the car behind me that day. I’m asking God to grant me the grace to extend kindness to people who are hard to like, much less love. And I pray God will remind me to take my eyes off my own troubles long enough to notice others around me and to seize the opportunities He gives me to be an encourager.