“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” (Proverbs 4:23 TEV) God is far more interested in changing your mind than changing your circumstances. We want God to take away all of the problems, pain, sorrow,
“Sir, …we would like to see Jesus” (John 12:21). Does that request sound familiar? Haven’t you felt in the same way? Somewhere in your deepest yearnings, don’t you long to see Jesus, witness one of his miracles, and know in
There was a time early in my ministry when I really struggled with God’s will for my life. I was interning at a small church in Illinois, and I was in the middle of a tenuous job search where nothing
We all go through times of joylessness, times of abject failure, seasons of grief, feeling overwhelmed for prolonged periods of time. Some of us are burnt out for any number of reasons. And many of us flagellate ourselves; we beat
Do you expect God to answer prayer? Or do you, like me, struggle to maintain a prayerfully expectant heart? For years, maybe even decades, Simeon had been waiting for God to fulfill a promise. Was he weary of waiting? I
If you’re going to say a prayer, it’s probably because you want something to change. When you pray for a blessing, you want to feel blessed afterward. When you pray for protection, you want to feel safe afterward. When you
“But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9b NLT, second edition). Life is tough. I realize that’s no surprise to you. You live with that
Faith! Faith? Faith can be a struggle whether the struggle is intellectual or based on hard life experiences or withering losses. How can we find faith, and in finding faith, also find ourselves in a better story?
God is very helpful, and the phrase “Ask and you shall receive!” is quite true. However, there are proper and improper ways to ask for God’s Read More »
Outside my office window, the squirrels are in a race against winter to bury their acorns in a safe, accessible place. Their commotion amuses me. An Read More »