Knowing & Being Known

Are you excited about your life? Or do you feel as if you’re merely existing, drifting along from day to day without any sense of purpose or direction? Through the years, I’ve met countless people who’re living what I call a “settled-for-life.” Somewhere along their journey, they became complacent and content in their circumstances. They settled for what they believed was adequate or satisfactory instead of exerting the effort and work…

Are you hungry? Not physically hungry, but do you have a hunger for something more in life? Is there something deep inside of you that never seems to be satisfied? If so, Jesus is the way! Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). Are you confused? Can you never seem to find a path or purpose in life? Does it seem like someone has turned out the lights and you…

Anytime a natural disaster strikes, it’s understandable that big questions come to mind—about things like life, death, and why we are here. The magnitude of death and destruction caused by earthquakes, fires, tsunamis, or floods displaces our normal everyday thoughts, leading us instead to seek explanations for suffering. Often we answer our own questions based on our personal understanding of God. If He does something that doesn’t fit into the box we&rsquo…

Have you ever tried to run from God? Most of us won’t try to escape physically by fleeing to another place, the way Jonah did. But we’re experts at ignoring God’s commands, distracting ourselves with busyness, and offering an alternative plan in place of full obedience. No matter how we rationalize and excuse ourselves, rebellion leads only to pain and suffering. While running from the Lord, Jonah overlooked some essentials that we should all keep in mind.…

God’s love can be hard to understand because it’s not like ours. We tend to love those whose character, attributes, and interests are appealing to us. But in God’s eyes, there is nothing attractive in us that makes us worthy of His affection. We are all sinners who have rebelled against Him. Out of divine mercy and grace, the heavenly Father chooses to love us. Through the sacrifice of His Son, He demonstrated His love to all those who would receive Jesus.…

Some people don’t believe Jesus is God, so they claim He was simply a good person. Others may intellectually acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son but have no personal relationship with Him. His true followers, however, believe in their heart that Christ is Savior (Rom. 10:9) and they’ve been adopted into His family. Ephesians 2:1-2 says that those who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus are spiritually dead and living according to the sin nature.…

Identity is not something that falls on us out of the sky. For better or for worse, identity is bestowed. We are who we are in relation to others. But far more important, we draw our identity from our impact on those others—if and how we affect them. We long to know that we make a difference in the lives of others, to know that we matter, that our presence cannot be replaced by a pet, a possession, or even another person. The awful burden of the false self is that it…

Paul, a Christ-follower, wrote to the Philippian church while he was in prison? He didn’t know what his future held—whether he’d be freed or punished or killed—but he had learned to be content in all circumstances, good or bad. How many of us can make that claim? It’s not uncommon to feel discontentment when we cannot control our situation. And as long as our satisfaction depends on whether certain things work out, circumstances will continue…

Part of our healing comes with forgiveness (of ourselves and others), and part of it comes with repentance. But first, we have to begin with how God sees us. How he sees you. Do you know? You are deeply and completely loved  (Rom. 8:38–39) You are totally and completely forgiven (1 John 2:12) When God sees you, he sees the righteousness of Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21) You mean the whole world to him (John 3:16) He thinks you are beautiful. Right now (Song of Sol. 4:1) He…