Slightly Obsessed #257: The Trifecta of Grace
But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger…. – James 1:19 A well-known Bible scholar recently posted some interesting news relating to current events on social media. The comment section was instantly bombarded with heated arguments. People who claimed to be Christians traded harsh and ignorant barbs. They posted […]
Slightly Obsessed #191: Give the Gift of Courage
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 […]
Slightly Obsessed #189: The Calling
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! – Isaiah 43:1 It must have been a haunting reminder. For three days his faith lay in the grave with the Savior’s body, tormented by the rooster’s crow mocking his proclamation of loyalty and public desertion. After the […]
Slightly Obsessed #177: Feet of Clay: When Your Best Isn’t Enough
Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For our ancestors won God’s approval by it. – Hebrews 11:1 (HCSB) Ever feel like a failure? I do, and often. My desk overflows with a never-ending pile of unfinished work. My job as a fulltime caregiver is […]
Slightly Obsessed #160 Is It Real or Just Raw?
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29 According to the Urban Dictionary, the term “keeping it real” means “Do not be fake. Be […]
Slightly Obsessed #146: Is It Possible to Fall from Grace?
You have fallen from grace. – Galatians 5:4 He stands sweating in the spotlight, fending off a crush of media circling the podium at the scent of blood in the water. His wife stands stoically behind him. A tight smile is frozen on her face, but her eyes tell the real story of betrayal: […]
Slightly Obsessed #145: Are You Smarter than Your Enemy?
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. -Matthew 10:16 My witty, irreverent aunt lived her entire life in the deep South. She worked for many years as a registered nurse and taught nursing until her death from cancer at an […]
Slightly Obsessed #134: New Year’s Day, All Year Long
Behold, I am making all things new. – Revelation 21:5 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. – 2 Corinthians 5:17 The snow fell all day, blanketing the yard and surrounding hills in a soft white whisper. Christmas still adorns […]
Slightly Obsessed #124: When Justice Comes Slowly
Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. – Ecclesiastes 8:11 Be sure your sin will find you out. – Numbers 32:23 He sat waiting just outside the circle of the streetlight, poised in the shadows […]
Slightly Obsessed #120: Where Is the Devil Now?
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.’ – Job 1:6-7 […]