“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” —John 3:16 It is possible to sing about trusting God while quietly holding your breath over tomorrow. We know He is faithful. We have heard the testimonies, read the [...]
Discomfort and reward often go together. I experience this every time I write. A blank page sits in front of me, and I have to fill it. Behind every word is a quiet prayer that somehow I will have something worthwhile to say. Sometimes the process feels hard. Sometimes I wonder where the words will [...]
Years ago I hiked a popular mountain in North Georgia. As I huffed and puffed my way along the sun soaked, leaf covered trail, sticks and leaves crunched beneath my feet. Somewhere along the way, my thoughts turned toward children. Children are curious about everything. If a child had been hiking with me that day, [...]
A few years ago, a friend sat across from me, worn down by waiting. She had prayed for years for a husband. Now, at forty, never married, she felt the weight of it all. The waiting. The silence. The questions. “Being single is not the abundant life,” she said, with a mix of frustration and [...]
Joseph shared a dream with his brothers. In it, they would one day bow down to him. It did not go over well. They were angry. They threw him into a pit, then sold him into slavery. If we are honest, we might have told Joseph to keep that dream to himself. What Joseph could [...]
I’ll be honest. Prayer doesn’t come easy for me. It’s not that I don’t know I should pray. It’s that, deep down, I don’t always believe it works the way God says it does. Because if I truly believed prayer made a real difference, I wouldn’t treat it like an afterthought. I’d bring everything to [...]
When I taught middle school in Texas, Lori was one of my special education students. She had a contagious personality and a beautiful spirit—and when she was thrilled about something, her brown, curly hair shook, jived, and jiggled like something out of a 1970s disco. One afternoon Lori rushed toward me with her hair dancing [...]
In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah tells a gripping story. His passion for an important God-given purpose was ignited when he asked his brother, Hanani, about the Jews who had survived the Babylonian exile. When he learned that those who survived the exile were back in Jerusalem, but that the city’s wall had been broken down and [...]
As a father of six children, I’ve dealt with more than a few cuts and bruises–and the most dreaded of all–splinters. Before a splinter was pulled, the fear of pain was almost always greater than the pain itself. For this reason, each of my children resisted attempts for healing. This reminds me of our spiritual [...]
Can God use your inadequacies and weaknesses to build character and even give you hope? Check out today's message from Randy Alcorn to find out. Through eternal perspective and faith we can see God’s goodness in our weaknesses and rejoice that our weakness provides a platform for showing his strength. “To keep me from becoming [...]
