The Hope of Healing

Greetings, fellow travelers. You who journey with Jesus Christ, partaking of the divine nature, grafted to the life-giving vine, and working out your salvation with fear and trembling. Today I bring a word of encouragement, inspired by very real and personal recent events. This is my testimony. We serve a timeless, all-powerful, loving, merciful God. The God of Abraham, Moses, King David, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush,…

Many experts agree that listing all the things you can be grateful for is an effective way to stay positive and joyful. And it’s true that focusing on what’s going right in your life can bring perspective to what’s going wrong. However, that mindset can also fall short of how God wants us to respond to our circumstances. The Bible tells us not only to give thanks for everything in our life (including what we see as negative) but also to give thanks.…

True strength does not come out of bravado. Until we are broken, our life will be self-centered, self-reliant; our strength will be our own. So long as you think you are really something in and of yourself, what will you need God for? I don’t trust a man who hasn’t suffered; I don’t let a man get close to me who hasn’t faced his wound. Think of the posers you know—are they the kind of man you would call at 2:00 A.M., when life is collapsing…

Father’s Day is in the rear-view mirror but oddly enough I’ve been thinking about my dad quite a bit lately. He went to be with the Lord on January 12th of 2010. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him face to face. Yet, I’m recalling fond memories of projects we did together, the time we spent at ball games, and just having him present. He was a tough guy. Never had much to say. Rough around the edges, but kind at heart. He gave His life to the…

Over the years we’ve come to see that the only thing more tragic than the things that have happened to us is what we have done with them. Words were said, painful words. Things were done, awful things. And they shaped us. Something inside of us shifted. We embraced the messages of our wounds. We accepted a twisted view of ourselves. And from that we chose a way of relating to our world. We made a vow never to be in that place again. We adopted strategies to protect…

I am here to tell you that you can get your heart back. But I need to warn you—if you want your heart back, if you want the wound healed and your strength restored and to find your true name, you’re going to have to fight for it. Notice your reaction to my words. Does not something in you stir a little, a yearning to live? And doesn’t another voice rush in, urging caution, maybe wanting to dismiss me altogether? He’s being melodramatic. What.…

Many awful things have been done with the doctrine of hell. “You’ll go to hell for that” has been used to condemn all sorts of things that God does not condemn. You know… “Don’t smoke, don’t chew, don’t go with girls who do.” Furthermore, those who have swung the idea of hell around like a club give you the impression that they’ll be glad to see you sent there. But not our God, who “is patient with you, not…

In difficult seasons, it’s natural to want to make changes—such as quitting a job, ending a friendship, or moving away—in order to resolve frustration. But first we should investigate the cause. Discontentment may come from: • Inability to accept ourselves as we were created. The talents, personality, and physical attributes God gave us are exactly what we need to follow His will for our life. Dwelling on the things we lack or would change distracts…

I got up this morning at 5:30 to make a short pit stop before eking out another hour of sleep - or so I thought. Upon flushing, I heard what sounded like a waterfall and quickly realized I was filled to overflowing, and not in a spiritual way. Someone clogged the toilet, and it wasn’t me. I’ll leave it at that. I asked our Golden Retriever, Tucker, about it later and he had no comment. After scrambling around to mop up the bathroom AND basement floors, I…