My family comes from a long line of worry warts. Not the mild concern type worry, but the all-consuming hand-wrenching worry that puts knots in your stomach and keeps you up at night. My dad was a master worrier. It intensified as he got older and moved to a nursing home. He worried about me driving at night, about his grandkids making good choices, about the weather tomorrow. He would often say with a smile “I have a lot of time on my hands. I need something to worry about!” He wasn’t alone. Many people’s lives are consumed with worry….
Well-known radio broadcaster, the late Paul Harvey, told a heartfelt story on air every December that people loved. It portrays why an invisible God sent His Son to earth as a man. What follows is a condensed version of the story. Enjoy! Once there was a skeptical, non-religious man who just couldn’t swallow the “Jesus story” about God coming to earth as a man. One snowy evening as he sat by the fire reading, he was startled by a loud thud against his house. Then another, and another. He went outside to discover a flock of birds huddled miserably…
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…
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…
What brings God joy? He wants us to know joy—not circumstantial happiness, but the deep and unshakable joy He gives, rooted in an awareness of His presence. Joy that keeps us going in good times or bad, because we know who is ultimately in control. But what brings a smile to His face? The simple answer is us, His people. For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. (Psalm 149:4) In Scripture, we’re often referred to as “sheep” (Psalm 100:3). Sheep require constant care to survive and thrive. If left alone they easily wander off…
