Knowing & Being Known

Whatever else it means to be human, we know beyond doubt that it means to be relational. Aren’t the greatest joys and memories of your life associated with family, friendship, or falling in love? Aren’t your deepest wounds somehow connected to someone also, to a failure of relationship? That you were loved but are no longer, or that you never have been chosen? One of the deepest of all human longings is the longing to belong, to be a part of things, to be…

When you’re waiting on God, remember that you’re in good company. Millions of saints before you have sat in God’s waiting room. You’re not alone. In fact, if you’re in the waiting room right now — maybe you’re waiting on a job, on an answer, or on a prayer — there are a lot of other people around you who are in that same situation. Hebrews 11:2 says, “People who lived in the past became famous because of faith” )…

God is in complete control over every circumstance; even in our trials, He’s working all things to accomplish His good purpose in our life. When we’re going through hard times, it’s comforting to know that nothing can touch a believer’s life unless the Lord allows it. He has complete control even in our most difficult and painful circumstances. Through it all, we’re being held firmly in our Father’s loving hand, and His good purpose is…

One of the strangest quirks of life here on this planet is the fact that the one face we hardly ever see is the one closest to us: our own. As we move about in the world every day, our face is always right before us and always just beyond us. Somebody could write a fairy tale about that. It would be an allegory for how rarely we see ourselves, who we truly are, the good and the bad. But in unexpected moments we get a sideways glance, as when passing by a plate glass window,…

Your sin has been dealt with. Your Father has removed it from you "as far as the east is from the west" (Ps. 103:12). Your sins have been washed away (1 Cor. 6:11). When God looks at you he does not see your sin. He has not one condemning thought toward you (Rom. 8:1). But that's not all. You have a new heart. That's the promise of the new covenant: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone…

Seven years have passed and the predicted famine is here just as Joseph said. This drought wasn’t localized to Egypt, other nations in the region were suffering as well. Word got out Egypt had grain, so everyone was clamoring to buy from them. Back in the land of Canaan, Jacob and his sons are hungry and getting desperate. Most likely their crops had suffered as well. Jacob tells his sons to go buy some food from the Egyptians before it’s too late.  The…

Against the flesh, the traitor within, a warrior uses discipline. We have a two-dimensional version of this now, which we call a "quiet time." But most men have a hard time sustaining any sort of devotional life because it has no vital connection to recovering and protecting their strength; it feels about as important as flossing. But if you saw your life as a great battle and you knew you needed time with God for your very survival, you would do it. Maybe not perfectly&mdash…

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” …

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” (Mark 8:35 NLT, second edition) How do you know if you are living for your dream or God’s dream? You may think you were created to get up, go to work, come home, watch TV, and go to bed, to make a little money, retire, and die. Really? You think that’s all God put you here for? If your dream is truly…