A Burning Bush One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Read more…
Want to transform your life? Develop the habit of meditating on Scripture. Meditating on Scripture is like pouring your life into a divine mold.
What is the glory of a woman? How can we overcome our failure, shame, and fear? These were some the questions we explored as I spoke on the topic of “Living as Women of Strength and Honor.” I was privileged to speak at a women’s brunch hosted by the Adorned Read more…
Since the day Adam and Eve hid from God, shame has been a problem in our relationships. Not only can Jesus Christ remove the guilt of our sins, but He also knows how to rescue us from shame.——————————————————————————————- Shame is a Shroud Shame is a shroudthat suffocates our soulsand hobbles Read more…
Simple ways to celebrate Passover and Easter. How to make Resurrection cookies. Holy Week devotionals for marriage.
If you are working to honor your marriage, then please allow me to say this to you: Thank you! On behalf of the entire Body of Christ, I thank you. Your faithfulness in marriage is a gift of strength to all of us. If you are honoring your marriage—whether your Read more…
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.A. W. Tozer As Christ-followers, we believe is that God is good. That statement is far more than a simple cliché: it is a critical dividing line! This belief distinguishes angels from demons. The Read more…
Quite frankly, I wasn’t eager to read about “the storm-tossed family.” But as I began to read Russell Moore’s latest book, I had to restrain myself from bombarding a friend with texted pictures of underlined passages from the book. You may not be eager to read about the tossing of Read more…
How significant are individual marriages to the Body of Christ? How important is a Biblical understanding of gender? Many Christians believe that marriage and sexuality are private issues which often distract us from the more important matter of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. But could it be that when Read more…
LORD, I thank You for my husband. Thank You for creating him in Your image, designing him for greatness and strength. I pray that my husband will be like a great tree planted by streams of water, its branches reaching up to the sky. May my husband be a mighty Read more…
You probably know some helpful life hacks for cooking, cleaning, or organizing your garage. Here’s one for your marriage: Remember the letters H-A-C-K. The word “hack” is not very appealing, but as an acronym, it represents some fantastic tools for building your marriage. HACK is an acronym for 4 super-important Read more…
How can you trust God after He has allowed evil and suffering to tear through your life? My friend Joanna has known pain that I cannot even imagine. She experienced horrific abuse for many years of her childhood. Today, she says that she loves God–and I know that she does–but Read more…
This Sunday, June 4, is Pentecost. We have just had a big holiday weekend here in the United States, so you may not feel eager for another “event.” But Pentecost does not require a lot of preparation, and it is too wonderful to miss! Very simply, Pentecost is a day Read more…
“I am the chief sinner.” Who would say something like that? We might be ready to nominate someone else for “chief sinner” at times, but we don’t often suggest ourselves. But in a letter to a young pastor, Paul wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I Read more…
Happy Spring! Soon, we will be celebrating the most important events in human history: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first event rescues us from unending death, unrelieved aloneness, and the utter loss of every good thing. The second event gives us friendship-filled, bursting-with-beauty Life forever. And the brilliant spotlight in both Read more…
Do not be afraid of the brokenness in your life. We all have to deal with broken relationships, broken promises, broken dreams, and broken hearts. All of us are broken by our own sin and by the sin of others. But God says to us: Do not be afraid; do Read more…
What is a Biblical response to same-sex marriage? How does the good news of Christ shape our thinking on this topic? If you are asking these questions, then you will want to read The Gospel and Same-Sex Marriage. Edited by Russell Moore and Andrew Walker, it is the most recent book in “The Read more…
Thank You, LORD, for the awesome message of Christmas: You stoop down to make us great. (Psalm 18:35, NIV) How incredible! This is precisely what You did through the stunning miracle of the Incarnation. You stooped down beneath the stars, beneath a low stable door, entering our world to enter our lives. Read more…
A Holy-Day to Celebrate You probably know that today is Halloween. But did you realize that it is also Reformation Day? And did you know that Reformation Day is a fantastic thing to celebrate? On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the wooden door of the cathedral Read more…
We can spend a lifetime living in our bodies without once asking ourselves this simple question: “What is the purpose of my body?” Amazing, isn’t it? We can invest a ton of time, money, and emotional turmoil in dealing with our bodies. Maybe it would be good to stop for a moment Read more…
It is a trending comment among Christians: Nonbelievers are going to act like nonbelievers. As a caution against judgmental attitudes, this is helpful. It is also a good reminder that our goal is not to force superficial behavior but to influence spiritual transformation. As one theologian put it, we should not Read more…
Have you ever struggled to forgive someone—even when you wanted to forgive? I know I have. I have come to realize that part of my struggle came from not understanding true forgiveness. Sometimes, we have a hard time forgiving because we are trying to do things that are not part Read more…
We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness. —Albert Schweitzer We have all experienced the ache of loneliness. It can cut to the deepest core of our being. It can be intensely painful. Relieving our loneliness is much harder than we expect. Just being surrounded Read more…
I really didn’t expect this. I recently read an advance copy of 21 Myths (Even Good) Girls Believe about Sex: Pursuing Love with Passion and Truth. I thought I might find some good nuggets of truth to share. I expected to find things that were helpful, factual, Biblical, and much-needed. Read more…
What Singles Need to Know about Marriage Last week, I was privileged to guest blog on Kristen Hogrefe’s fantastic website, ThinkTrueThoughts, where I shared several “true thoughts” about marriage: Marriage is a profound revealer of spiritual truth. You can have a great impact on others in the area of marriage. Purity is Read more…
Need to move any mountains? Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.” Read more…
We make complicated messes. God gives simple instructions. The enemy tries to confuse and bewilder and overwhelm. We try to figure out the tangled, jumbled-up complexities; but with each broken piece we pick up, we become more perplexed. God gives simple instructions. “Humble yourselves.” We Read more…
Do trials increase our faith? Have you heard that trials increase our faith? “Trials and troubles … are treadmills for the soul.”[i] That certainly may be true. But if trials increase faith, then we should be muscle-bulging spiritual giants and we should be surrounded by people of massive faith. We Read more…
Earlier this month, Gary Smalley crossed the finish line and entered heaven. I was one of the many who were blessed by his writing and speaking. As he ran the race that God had marked out for him, Gary shared some wonderful truths that he was learning along the way. Be a Blessing! Read more…
If you are trying to build up your value, or if you are working to create a satisfying identity, you can lay those heavy burdens down. I listened to my friend recently as she lamented that her sense of identity was unraveling like yarn being pulled from a sweater: “I Read more…
We live in a world of hurt, don’t we? We are not quite the walking dead, but we are the walking wounded. We know how to feel hurt and how to cause hurt, but who knows how to heal? Mercifully, “the God of all comfort” specializes in healing. As our tender-hearted Read more…
Sometimes, God’s Will can be a real mystery to us. At other times, it can seem rather mundane. But we can learn from several fascinating stories how to push through the mysterious and mundane into the marvelous! Kings have dreams. In ancient Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream. When Read more…
A Strategy to Target Bitterness “If I were your enemy, I’d use every opportunity to bring old wounds to mind. … I’d try to ensure that your heart was hardened with anger and bitterness. Shackled through unforgiveness.” (page 151) With this insight, Priscilla Shirer begins her discussion of a prayer strategy Read more…
What are your prayer strategies? Could you use some? We understand that we are in a spiritual battle. We “wrestle not with flesh and blood,” but against spiritual forces. We wage this battle through prayer, fighting on our knees. But do we understand the need for clear battle strategies? Do Read more…
When God made a covenant with His people at Mount Sinai, He clarified the guidelines which would best nurture a healthy relationship. The Ten Commandments were given as principles which would guard the covenant. Just as there are principles which protect our relationship with God, our Covenant Partner, so there Read more…
Do you know the traits of a great husband? Do you know where these 7 characteristics are listed in the Bible? I would like to nominate Psalm 23 as “The Husband Chapter” of the Old Testament. The Good Shepherd provides a fantastic model for godly husbands. Click HERE to read more.
There is nothing more awesome than friendship with God! We cannot earn our way to God, but we can accept His amazing proposal to us of unfailing friendship. Here’s how: If you’d like to learn more about having a friendship with God, please feel free to ask. Blessings to you, Read more…
Jesus was not the first person to be raised from the dead. His disciples had seen Lazarus walk out of a tomb after being dead for four days. They had seen Jesus lift a dead boy out of his coffin and back into life. But as amazing as those things Read more…
Bitterness can destroy us. We understand that. But do we understand why? Why does our refusal to forgive cause such serious harm to us? Unforgiveness deforms us because it is rooted in a lie. As with all sin, it binds us in spiritual enslavement because bitterness denies the truth that Read more…
Last week, I discussed forgiveness as a “weapon of mass destruction,” recognizing its immense spiritual power. Today, I would like to continue with this theme of forgiveness, evaluating its current popularity as therapeutic self-help. (If you missed last week’s post, you can read it HERE.) ————————————————————- Trendy Self-Help Interestingly, forgiveness has Read more…
You’ve heard of a “weapon of mass destruction.” Do you think there could be something like a spiritual WMD? I recently read the astonishing biography of Jacob DeShazer, one of the courageous Doolittle Raiders.[i] Led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, these American airmen were the first to bomb Japan after Read more…
Last week, I mentioned a new book entitled, Fight Back with Joy. However, I did not get any farther than the title! :) Today, I’d like to share a bit more with you about this book by Margaret Feinberg. Not long ago, Margaret began focusing on joy as her “word Read more…
Have you heard about FoMO? The “Fear of Missing Out” is the latest trend. This phobia can cause endless checking of social media, as well as feelings of anxiety and depression. But Christ-followers have no need to take part in the FoMO fad because we have this fantastic promise from Read more…
Did you realize that the Old Testament tabernacle has amazing truth for marriages? I share six steps that move us from isolation into intimacy in this article for StartMarrriageRight.com: “Stepping from Isolation into Intimacy.” I would love to hear your thoughts. And as always, you are invited to join Read more…
Vicki Rose had every earthly reason to leave her broken marriage. But she discovered that she had an even greater reason to stay. Vicki explains this in her new book, entitled, Every Reason to Leave: And Why We Chose to Stay Together, published by Moody. Vicki shares not only the Read more…
But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:20-21, NIV) This is the kind of life you’ve been invited Read more…
I am trying something new today. I would like to share with you a presentation called “Battle Strategies in Prayer: How to Fight on Your Knees.” In this slide-show, I discuss several aspects of effective prayer. These are spiritual principles that we can learn from Old Testament battle accounts. May God bless you Read more…
Looking for God’s direction concerning your marriage? Here is some clear instruction from 1 Corinthians 7—along with some encouragement and challenge, too: Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other…. [I]f you are married, stay married. This is the Master’s command…. If Read more…
Here is a book that I would recommend even if it were nothing more than its title: Grace Filled Marriage. But now that I have finished reading Grace Filled Marriage, I am glad to say that I can recommend not only the title but also the entire book! If “grace” Read more…
