Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction. 2 Cor. 1:3-4, ESV I made it, I thought as I woke up the morning after Valentine’s Day. I’d started February 14 with a careless scroll through Instagram…
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanual” (which means God with us).Matthew 1:23 Hope Deferred It was Christmas Eve thirty years ago, sixteen months after my wedding. Sixteen months of unanswered prayers for a babe in my womb. Sixteen months of hope deferred when only one…
What if my hope leads to disappointment? What if I embrace joy only to have it ripped from my hands? And what if I try and fail? These are the questions we often ask as we stare into the unknown and wrestle with uncertainty. These questions can feel particularly poignant during the Advent season as…
You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” Lamentations 3:57 I have found fear to be like a shadow of something that appears larger than it is. Fear and anxiety have a way of distorting reality to make what is in front of us feel all-consuming. I remember the Holy Spirit…
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear… -Psalm 46:1-2 A lifetime of broken trust and abandonment tends to teach a person to rely on herself and close herself off. Even to God. I’d gotten to a place where, after walking through the fire, I was…
“To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”Acts 10:43 (ESV) The first time I read the story of Peter and Cornelius, I remember thinking how beautifully God works behind the scenes. Cornelius didn’t know exactly what God was doing in his life, only…
I have a confession to make. My Bible reading plan was going really well until I got tothe end of 2 Kings. At that point it became very hard to not simply skip ahead to Psalms or Proverbs where I knew I would find a few more uplifting and encouraging passages to read. Many times…
What comes to your mind when you hear the word patience, or be patient? Perhaps a groan or a response, “that’s easy for you to say but I…” Patience is not a pleasing thought, but a longed-for character trait. We have so little of it. The lack of it shows up early. Our toddler stomps…
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplicationwith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV) I discovered the power of gratitude in one of my gravest moments. It started when…
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3) My two mentees and I were sitting on my deck talking about our mentor study, Red Sea Rules. The night was calm, the string of deck lights illuminating the dark, and the three of us reflected on what…
When I was a high school senior, I heard a sermon about Shadrach, Meshach, andAbednego where the pastor pointed out a detail in Daniel 3:27 I’d never noticed.There was no smell of fire on them. Everyone knows if you stand near a fire for even two minutes your hair will smell likesmoke for days. If…
Who has despised the day of small things?Zechariah 4:10, NKJV When I came to pastor the Brooklyn Tabernacle decades ago, we had just a handful of people. At first I had natural enthusiasm. I wasn’t seminary trained, and my sermons were bad, and the offerings were pitiful—the first one I collected was eighty-five dollars—but I…
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7, NIV I always say that my daughter, Glory, woke me up to life. She had just turned four years old when she had her first seizure, a seizure that should have left her unable to walk or…
Bess and Gary couldn’t wait for the empty nest. Raising their kids had been tough. They had different approaches to discipline, they’d struggled on a tight budget, and they’d postponed many of their dreams in order to be with their kids. Now the last one was leaving the nest, and they felt they had done…
“I will ponder the way that is blameless…I will walk with integrity of heart within my house. I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” Psalm 101: 2 (ESV) When I was a little girl, I used to play “house” for hours with my cousins. We’d make our rooms out of plastic-woven tri-fold beach chairs turned on…
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