Blog
Christmas Is for You: Joyful, patient, faithful—he was all three
Joyful, patient, and faithful: Three qualities and an aged saint who had them all.
Christmas Is for You: These two learned about God and his promises
Their remarkable story gives us faith that God’s promises are for us, too!
Christmas Is for You: The promise it offers is for caregivers, too
His coming offers the promise of hope to everyone who will obey him, even those who feel Christmas is for someone else.
Embracing Lament: We’re not too old for what all of us need most: hope
More than those in any generation, in spite of our unexpected burdens, we should have hope. All our experience with God tells us he will win in the end.
Embracing Lament: The changes come slowly, so the lament comes daily
Morning by morning we remember our needs and repeat our prayers. With the psalmist, we go to God because only he can help.
Embracing Lament: God is author of the joy we may find in silence
“Fill my heart with joy,” the psalmist prayed. He knew the only source for the surest way to find what he needed most.
Embracing Lament: Naming our enemies, then calling on God to conquer
Fight my enemies? A second thought may help us see how relevant this psalm is for our personal situation.
Embracing Lament: The matter to address before anything else
Before we take our laments to God, we need to give him ourselves.
Embracing Lament: We can be good news to others who are suffering
The psalm follows a familiar pattern: lament followed by praise. But then it shows us something more: Include others in our laments.
Embracing Lament: We can be sure Jesus understands how we feel
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" What we have experienced, Jesus has said.
Embracing Lament: The God who acted yesterday is with us still today
Only when the psalmist concentrates on what God has already accomplished does he find resolve to lay today’s problems before him.
Embracing Lament: The prayer power in just one three-letter word
The Psalms can help us discover the beauty of “but” for our everyday prayers.
Embracing Lament: Our complaints deserve something better than nice
I'll never regret the night I laid out my complaints to God. Now I realize I was practicing a key component of lament.
Embracing Lament: God’s still there, no matter how long we’re waiting
We may pray with the psalmist, "How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?" And we may find from the psalmist a pathway to hope.
Embracing Lament: Cry out to God. Pain is the perfect time to pray
Pain and heartbreak and overwhelming grief are the perfect times to pray. Prayer has never been more real for some than in such moments of crisis.
Questions from the Bible, Part Four: ‘What must I do to be saved?’
Of the four Bible questions repeated n this short series, perhaps none came with more urgency than the Roman jailer’s.
Questions from the Bible, Part Three: ‘What evil has he done?’
We could find an answer to this question about anyone we know. What does it tell us they wanted to kill him for the answer he would have given about himself?
Questions from the Bible, Part Two: ‘Which of these was his neighbor?’
I need look no farther than the place Evelyn lives to find my answer to the question Jesus asked.
Questions from the Bible, Part One: ‘Why were you looking for me?’
Mary and Joseph did not understand the question Jesus asked. But it leads us to reevaluate a question we may be asking God.
Jesus Loved Them, Part 9: Why was he the only one to say thanks?
“Why do I deserve this?” We may ask the question when bad times come our way. Do we think to ask it when we’ve received a special blessing?