The Reality of Our Present World

It’s easy to trust God when life is pleasant. In difficult times, though, it can be challenging. Yet that’s exactly what God tells us to do: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you” (Psalm 50:15). We can trust the Lord for several reasons. One is because of His love for us. We see it clearly demonstrated through the Father’s character, Jesus’ atoning death, and our adoption as a child of God. Another reason we can rely on…

I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. (Ezekiel 28:16) So evil entered the Story. I am staggered by the level of naïveté that most people live with regarding evil. They don't take it seriously. They don't live as though the Story has a Villain. Not the devil prancing about in red tights, carrying a pitchfork, but the incarnation of the very worst of every enemy you've met…

We see Jesus withdrawing in order to work through tragic news, such as when he learns that his friend John the Baptist has died. He withdraws to gain insight on important decisions, such as which men to call to follow him. He withdraws so that he simply can pray. He withdraws to enjoy time with his closest companions. He withdraws as a means of teaching his disciples the unparalleled value of rest. He doesn’t wait until his mission is accomplished. He doesn’t…

Whether we want to admit it or not, we all have bad habits. Those things we do and say that we wish we didn’t do and say. Some habits are difficult to break and some are incredibly difficult to break. We may be prone to laziness or gossip, or we may have formed a habit of abusing substances. Whatever it is, we’ve probably either become comfortable with certain habits in our lives, or we think they’re too difficult to overcome. Why is change so challenging?…

What’s happening here? Is this a shakeup or just a blip in the natural order of things? From a deadly pandemic to a global movement for racial justice, the year 2020 has already experienced its fair share of world-shifting events — and it is still months from being over. Here is a list of some of those events taken from a recent New York Post article. The country faced one of its most devastating wildfire seasons as the blazes continued from December 2019…

Imagine how free we’d feel if we learned to truly believe that in every situation, trust was the antidote to fear, that consciously trusting God would cause our moments of anxiety and panic to be short-lived. Imagine if we could grow to a place where trusting him was our first reaction. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). It&rsquo…

As one of my mentors put it, the interpretation you use to understand your reality and your role in it will be the single greatest force in shaping what becomes of your next decade. In the words of Dan Baker in What Happy People Know, “The stories we tell ourselves about our own lives eventually become our lives. ... The choice is ours.” Our life will be significant in proportion to the stories we choose to interpret our reality. What stories are you using…

It was a week full of extremely bad news. One deadly overdose, three relapses to alcohol and drugs, and a friends toddler fighting to survive cancer. Life is so fragile and fraught with difficulties. This is not how it was supposed to be. Jesus said “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV). When I look around at the events…

It’s a challenge we each face regularly: How can we live in peace with other people and restore peace when conflict erupts? The fact is, God desires for us to live in peace with others. He also knows that we’ll not always be at peace with others. Conflicts occur. At times, conflicts aren’t easily resolved. In fact, there are occasions when conflicts cannot be resolved. However, God wants us to do all we can to be at peace with everyone. We who are…