Military life offers plenty of opportunities to fear. Without question this world we live in provides endless sources of fear and opportunities to fear; for instance, pestilence, disease, famine, spiders, and snakes; as well as wars, bullets, hidden bombs, riots, and anarchy; indeed, even alleged friends who may be enemies in hiding. It is no… Continue reading In Christ: Fearless
The Specific Hand of our Present God
From Genesis 3:1 to Revelation 22:21 the Scriptures record trials. Trials by flesh, trials by spirit, trials by the world; but there are always trials.The entire Bible is a masterpiece from God teaching and equipping us to handle trials. In fact, Peter writes this: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to… Continue reading The Specific Hand of our Present God
Faith Like a Leper
Matthew 8:3 “And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” I feel like that is pretty profound. The leper was immediately cleansed because it was the will of God. This man encountered the living God in human form. Let me explain more why this is profound for me… Continue reading Faith Like a Leper
If We Touch it Will We Die
What is the difference between ‘trial’ and ‘temptation’? Jesus teaches us in his construct prayer in Matthew 6 and specifically verse 13 to pray, asking God that we not be led into temptation. Those are very interesting words. Jesus is instructing us, God is instructing us, via his manifestation as a human that we ask him not… Continue reading If We Touch it Will We Die
Hearts Under Fire
My brothers and sisters in Christ serving in the military I want you to see that our trials can lead us to deeper fellowship with Christ. Trials put the Christian heart under fire. Live fire. Peter writes, “Beloved, do not be surprised by the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as… Continue reading Hearts Under Fire
Would you believe… God rules over time?
God is timeless. I mean, of course, that he transcends time. He is present in eternity past and eternity future. Time is not out of his control nor is it something outside himself. If we believe that he created everything, the concept of time must be of his design and he will use it to… Continue reading Would you believe… God rules over time?
Normal is Not an Earthly Treasure
We have heard a great deal of talk regarding getting back to normal after COVID-19. Then, as one writer put it, we have had the manmade crisis regarding the death of Mr. Floyd added to the natural crisis of the virus.What is normal? We try to squinch too much into this word, maybe making it… Continue reading Normal is Not an Earthly Treasure
Repenting Toward an Occasion to Glorify God
Free from but not of….with a dangling preposition… In my previous blog, I repeated something similar to something Mahaney said: our fears, our concerns, our worries are not the cause of our anxiety but the occasion. Now insert any struggle that you have with depression, lust, anger, bitterness – anything at all. If we dependently pray to God… Continue reading Repenting Toward an Occasion to Glorify God
Labor to Rest
How do we understand our own dependence? Christians would say that we are dependent upon the Lord. What does that mean? How does dependence upon God help us? I’d like to propose today how ‘worry’ can be our way to a deeper understanding of our dependence upon God, for how we live our lives moment… Continue reading Labor to Rest
Christ, Our Eternal Rest
“And [Jesus] said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.’” (Mark 2:27-28). Our (eternal) rest is not dependent upon our circumstances or the whims of another, but upon the God-Man Jesus the Christ who has sovereign control of… Continue reading Christ, Our Eternal Rest