Category: Relationship with God

As I continue my study of Job, something leaps out at me that doesn’t make sense.  Job is so angry – so entitled and self-righteous.  He is calling God to account for the unfair treatment he is getting.  At the same time, we find in the account of Job the most beautiful statements of faith… Continue reading The Same Faith for Today and Forever

How do you tell how you are doing in God’s estimation?  How can you know if He is in “well done faithful servant” mode or if He is in all-out “get thee behind me” mode?  That is the problem we face when we approach God with the attitude of trying to please Him.  If He… Continue reading The Destructive Myth of ‘Better Than Most’

Every time I read Psalm 141, I imagine the prayers of people rising like the smoke from burning incense toward heaven.   Psalm 141:2 says, “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.”  We also have a verse in Revelation that talks about the same… Continue reading Praying Prayers That Rise Like Incense

It’s that time of year again – the New Year – a time for looking back on the old and setting goals for the new.  It is a time when exercise equipment sales soar, health food sales explode, and money management seminars actually get watched.  Resolution time.  Even if you gave up on resolutions at… Continue reading My 2024 Resolution Experiment

We all love the big Bible stories and the main characters who have remarkable faith and huge parts to play in the plans of God.  I think we all secretly wish we could be one of those people sometimes.  But in reality, the most remarkable faith is often shown by the minor characters – those… Continue reading The Faith of Joseph – Another View of the Christmas Story

As I was in the process of moving from the only home I had ever known to my new life in North Carolina, I had the unenviable task of deciding which of my family’s heirlooms, keepsakes, and furniture to take with me, and which to sell or give away.  I couldn’t afford to take it… Continue reading Five Chairs at the Table

Comfort.  We are on a never-ending quest for it.  We eat comfort foods, look for comfortable furniture to sit and sleep in, and dive into our comfy clothes after work.  We even sing about it at Christmas: “Tidings of comfort and joy”.  We hate being uncomfortable in any way: physically, financially, emotionally, or spiritually.  We… Continue reading Not Comfortable but Learning to Be Content

I was just reading the account in John 11 about the death of Lazarus.  This section of scripture contains the shortest verse of the Bible: “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35).  Yet, it is in this verse that I have found comfort again and again.  It is also one of the more mystifying verses in many ways. … Continue reading The Healing Power of the Weeping of Jesus

As I have been studying the Bible more deeply, I have been increasingly touched by how God sees and hears our human hearts.  This is especially true when we are at the end of our rope and our hearts are overwhelmed with trouble.  I see it in the story of Hagar and Ishmael in the… Continue reading His Eye Is on the Sparrow and Stray Cats and Me

I am a determined do-it-yourselfer.  I admit that I really hate asking for help.  It is mix of pride and impatience.  I don’t like to be told I can’t do something or can’t fix something.  And I hate the inconvenience and time delays of having to hire someone else to do it, not to mention… Continue reading The Cure for Being Cast Down