Category: Adversity

Lament

God welcomes our laments. In fact, nothing is more freeing and healthy in our relationship with Him than voicing how we really feel and knowing He totally understands. Our questions and frustrations don’t frustrate Him. In fact He wrote the book on them. The bulk of what we call the wisdom books of Scripture, Job and Psalms, are laments. The wisdom of God, it seems, is lamenting to God.

Church

The recent global pandemic of COVID-19 or Coronavirus and the need for physical distancing has raised a significant question, "What is the Church?" All of a sudden, the meaning, significance, and purpose of the church has raised some interesting, practical questions. If we can’t meet at a particular place or gather together at a specific … Continue reading Church →

Tired (of Social Media)

In our modern era of social media, we love to post pics of our family, vacations, the food we ate, parties we went to, the games we played or watched, links to funny videos, and so much more. It's a great way to share a part of our lives with our family and friends. Those … Continue reading Tired (of Social Media) →

A Mad World

When did the world get so angry? How did it happen so quickly? As we look ahead to a new year in 2018, we have some serious issues to deal with in the world of relationships － especially relationships in regard to race, religion, and politics. How did we get so full of frustration that the … Continue reading A Mad World →

Resolving Conflict

As we gather together this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, we begin the Holiday season that provides significant time with family and friends. For many, however, the extra time with people is not a time of celebration, but of significant stress because of unresolved conflict -- maybe even many years of it. The easy thing, the … Continue reading Resolving Conflict →

church fights

It has been said that “church fights are the worst fights,” perhaps because they break out among people who profess to believe in unity and love. You name it, Christians fight over it. Sometimes the disagreements are over trivial matters, but often they are serious conflicts from different viewpoints. Many Christians have been so hurt … Continue reading church fights →

Trials

Could there have been anything more tedious, anything more ill-timed for Mary and Joseph than following political orders to travel for a census when she was 9 months pregnant?  I imagine the tiresome commute to Bethlehem and their disappointing search for lodging was not immediately recognized by Mary and Joseph as something “good” from the Lord. … Continue reading Trials →

Rejoice!

Rejoicing in the Lord comes naturally when life is good. Saying, singing, and, more importantly believing, that God is good is much easier when life is going smoothly. But, when difficulty, discouragement, dishonor, and even death, comes our way, giving thanks to God, trusting in His goodness, and rejoicing in Him becomes a decision. Regardless of … Continue reading Rejoice! →