Rejoicing with others is sometimes really hard, especially when they are getting what you desperately want. I have been convicted lately that I put people in categories: those who are easy to rejoice with and those who are more difficult. In the second category it can be much harder to rejoice with them. Maybe you want to be married and your friend (who always seems to have a guy hanging around her) just recently got engaged. Maybe you are hoping for a certain job and the person who cuts corners gets the promotion or the opportunity. Maybe you want a particular scholarship and you are looked over, again. Or maybe you have been trying to get pregnant for a while and every time you check Facebook one more person is expecting a little bundle of joy.
God is in the Heat
One of the most helpful things I've learned in the past few years is this concept of Heat and Thorns/Fruit. We all face Heat in a variety of ways. While the Heat can be difficult, it does not dictate our response to it. It only reveals what is already inside. Heat has a way of doing that. But what has been even more encouraging to me is that God is in my Heat.
Our Creativity Tells a Story
We are all familiar with Psalm 19:1, which says “The heavens declare the glory of God.” In this psalm David is saying that every inch of the created world—from clouds to vegetation, human beings to animals—screams the greatness of our amazing Creator. The uniqueness in each person’s face, the rain that falls on parched vegetation, the creation of a little life in the womb of a mother—every tiny detail reflects the glory of our great God.
Jesus is Not Your Boyfriend
Daniel and I have just finished a much needed vacation, hence the silence on the blog this past week! But I have been writing. This morning, Her.meneutics (the Christianity Today blog for women) posted something I wrote on a popular trend in Christendom--single women calling Jesus/God their boyfriend. I'm sure at some point you have heard someone say something along these lines, "until God brings me a husband, I am content to just have him as my boyfriend." Some have even gone so far as calling God their lover, as so many popular songs often do.
No Condemnation
If you are anything like me, you regularly (sometimes daily) come back to the truth of Romans 8:1, which says “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And if you have ever taken a bible interpretation class or listened to your pastor explain the context of a specific passage you know that whenever we see a “therefore” we must always ask what it is there for. Clever, I know. But it’s catchy and helpful isn’t it? So what is this “therefore” talking about in Romans 8:1?
Unbroken: A Review
Jesus, Bold and Truthful (Part 3)
One of the unexpected emotions I have experienced as I’ve read the Gospels these last few months is shock. Jesus says some seemingly outlandish and authoritative things! On more than one occasion I have found myself rereading a particular passage or verse, thinking to myself, “did he really say that?” Any notion that Jesus is merely a mild mannered, even keeled personality is a misguided one at best. That is not the Jesus of the Bible at all. Instead, Jesus is bold, clear, and he speaks the truth without reservation.
Jesus, Compassionate and Loving (Part 2)
Last week I wrote that the first thing we must believe about Jesus is that he is fully God. Even a brief read through of the Gospel accounts draw us to conclude that there is no other explanation for his power, authority, and sovereignty even as he walked this earth. Every other description of him stems from this amazing and unique reality—Jesus is God.
Who is This Jesus? He is God (Part 1)
Jesus can be a controversial figure for some people. For centuries the outside world has viewed him as little more than a nice person who taught people how to live, or worse, a complete lunatic who led people into his crazy way of life. As Christians, we see him much differently. We have been redeemed by him, loved by him, and bought with his precious blood. But often we fall into similar patterns of thought regarding Jesus. We believe that he is more than a mere man, but we treat him as little more than an example for us to follow as we live our daily lives.
He is the Complete and Final Sacrifice for Sin
"Here is the true, the final, and the all-sufficient sacrifice for sin. Jesus not only endures God's just wrath on the cross, but he exhausts and satisfies it, draining it down to the bitter dregs, so that there is none left. In satisfying God's wrath, Jesus also shows us that here at last is the true king and judge who conquers the enemy of his people--not flesh and blood, but sin and death--and delivers us from the power of both...