These are the actual counseling notes from a friend that I met with for counseling. She permitted me to share them, which I altered slightly and flattened out for public distribution. Counseling notes miss a lot of data. While they cover the breadth of one… Continue Reading …
Trials and disappointment are two unexpected ways the Lord blesses our lives. It’s a challenging way to think, but you know it’s true to the Bible’s narrative. The tension is that in those times in our lives where circumstances mount to such a degree, we… Continue Reading …
When you fall out of love with your spouse, your marriage takes a drastic turn that few couples can alter. Long before the love sets sail, there are signs that point to a future disappointing season. Mable saw the signs but did not reach out… Continue Reading …
Have you ever been discouraged? Silly question, I know. You are human, and you have battled our discouraging foe. Finite people living in an uncontrollable, infinite world creates a formula that leads to despair. Throw sin into the mix, and discouragement is a guarantee. I… Continue Reading …
There are two large groups of people in America today. They are the winners and the losers. The happy and the sad. The glad and the mad. The hopeful and the fearful. Which one are you on this morning after an American presidential election? What… Continue Reading …
When recently doing a study on Moses, something grabbed my attention this time, and it wasn’t the usual question of how anyone can live off manna for so long. The first chapter of Exodus gives us a glimpse into the lives of a truly remarkable… Continue Reading …
Christians are aliens who live in a foreign land. This home is not theirs, but while they are here, they must live on a practical mission that penetrates the culture, hoping that others will follow them to their eternal home. Sadly, some alien Christians lose… Continue Reading …
You’re only as strong as your hope, and if your main hope is not in Christ, you are not as strong as you should be. The way to know where you have placed your primary hope is by how you react to the difficulties and… Continue Reading …
There is something about the title that sounds counterintuitive to our self-reliant and self-protective lives. Even so, doesn’t it have a biblical ring to it? You die to live (Matthew 16:24-26). You humble yourself to be exalted (Matthew 23:12). You give up something to gain… Continue Reading …
Everybody suffers. It does not matter who you are. It doesn’t matter who you belong to—the world or God’s family. Suffering is suffering, and nobody is exempt from it. The difference between Christian and non-Christian suffering is how we view and respond to it. When… Continue Reading …