Have you ever considered that our greatest need is stillness? In our wildly accelerating world, our lives are perpetually overloaded, chaotic, and noisy. The demands of daily life, coupled with our devices constantly informing, entertaining, and distracting us, lead us to a place of endless inner buzz. We become increasingly desperate to slow down, unplug, and seek quiet—but find it foreign and elusive. Did God intend that we push stillness out of our lives to the degree that we no longer experience His presence? That we love and serve the god of busy instead of Him? Without a smartphone, even Jesus…
God’s Faithfulness
Perhaps you’re familiar with the words to the hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness[1]: Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; There is no shadow of turning with Thee, Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not, As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be. God doesn’t change. His compassions don’t fail. What He said was, was . . . What He says is, is . . . What He says will be, will be . . . Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, Sun,…
Childlike Faith
All smiles and laughter, two small boys ran across the yard, on a mission to find hidden “treasure.” The instructions given by grandma had been clear: In the patch of tall ferns there would be four promised “gifts”—all the same item but in different colors. They were to search for them until they found them. Once discovered, they could trade colors if they wanted to. Our job as adults was to follow and observe. Three-year-old Benjamin was the first to find a large packaged green glow stick. He raised it in the air shouting, “I found it!” with delight. Seconds…
How to Become More Christlike
One of the most exciting realities of the Christian life is that when we enter into relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we begin a process of transformation. We start thinking, feeling, and viewing things as God does. The Holy Spirit governs this process while teaching us the ways of Christ. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2) From the word “transform” in the…
Goodbye For Now
Our times are in His hands . . . How I was recently reminded of this when my dear friend Sarah’s husband died on May 15. Shocking. Unexpected. How can this be? My heart yet aches with sorrow—for Barry, leaving us too soon; for Sarah, now alone after 35 years of marriage; for their three wonderful daughters, left without a dad. Our times are in His hands . . . An expression of our smallness, and His bigness. But also an expression of hope—that our Heavenly Father has an everlasting plan for us and our loved ones—wherein one day there…