Walking With God

If you follow Jesus, you have likely heard the phrase “God’s will.” It’s often mentioned in the context of His having a will for each believer—or of our doing His will, walking in His will, and the like. If we love the Lord, then certainly we want to obey Him (John 14:15). But let’s take a look at some of the reasons we might miss His plan for our life. Handling God’s Word Improperly. When our days become jam-packed with commitments…

Either we wake to tackle our “to do” list, get things done, guided by our morals and whatever clarity we may at the moment have (both rather lacking to the need, I might add); or we wake in the midst of a dangerous Story, as God’s intimate ally, following him into the unknown. If you’re not pursuing a dangerous quest with your life, well, then, you don’t need a Guide. If you haven’t found yourself in the midst of a ferocious war, then you won&rsquo…

I was reading an article written by an acquaintance of mine. He makes a great point. God-given creativity doesn’t rely on past formulas or man-made rules. Yet there’s something in us that wants consistent, guaranteed results. And if there’s a proven shortcut that promises to get us there even faster, all the better. Except that’s not how God designed the process to work. I find myself looking for shortcuts to results that can only come over time.…

It is a stark reality, isn’t it? Whether intentionally or unintentionally—and “even if we deny it”— our spirits have been formed by a lifetime of experiences, choices, and interactions. We have become a certain type of person. In many cases, the influences of this world have shaped our personality and character without our direct forethought or intention, in ways that leave us broken, wilting, and in desperate need of transformation into Christ&rsquo…

When God creates Eve, he calls her an ezer kenegdo. “It is not good for the man to be alone, I shall make him [an ezer kenegdo]” (Genesis 2:18 Alter). Hebrew scholar Robert Alter, who has spent years translating the book of Genesis, says that this phrase is “notoriously difficult to translate.” The various attempts we have in English are “helper” or “companion” or the notorious “help meet.” Why are these…

We find ourselves living in a time when the common question is not “Who are your friends?” but “How many friends do you have?” The focus is on numbers, not names. This makes sense in our social media obsessed world where it is possible to have hundreds, even thousands of friends. Or at least that’s the word we use when describing these people although many we’ve never met in person and some we could possibly pass by in a crowd and not.…

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in the Northeast. We have another on tap today. 82, no humidity, bright sunshine, birds chirping, and our back patio set up for a little R n’ R. I love this time of year. The newness of life all around us. The only downside is cutting the grass. But, with my favorite podcast and Spotify playlist cued up, I pulled through just fine. We recently celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus. The most significant event in the history of…

Have you ever fallen asleep on a long trip? Jesus did. Luke tells us that one time Jesus and the disciples got on a boat to reach the other side of a lake, and Jesus fell asleep. The next thing the disciples knew, they were engulfed in a storm, and the one person powerful enough to protect them was blissfully unaware. The disciples panicked and woke Him. Jesus has promised to give us His peace (John 14:27)—this is the very same peace that enabled Him to sleep through…

When I hear the word, retreat, it conjures up a negative connotation. It feels like surrendering or reversing course due to some error in judgment. Webster’s first way of defining retreat is an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable. You see, doesn’t that seem a little cowardly? If you read further into Webster’s explanation of what it means to retreat, you’ll find this: a period of group…