From the time we were little we’ve had a favorite question, “Why?” Every small child loves to ask why, to understand the reason behind whatever they are observing. It’s just not enough to learn the who, what, where, and when about something. Without knowing the why, we can’t understand motivation, cause and effect, action and […]
Category: essay
IF MY PEOPLE
“If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” This is one of the most well-known verses in the Bible, 2 Chronicles 7:14. In the verse […]
EVEN IF
We are so often overcome. Our daily lives balance on a precipice of our own making, and we are just fine as long as nothing upsets that tension. We juggle marriage, children, work, home, personal care, rest, never-ending schedules from every possible source, church, community, extended family, interests, recreation, entertainment, trying to make God the […]
PRAYING OUR DEEPEST DESIRES
In my Bible reading right now I’m using a method that I’ve really liked over the years. I divide the text into five sections: history, (Genesis-Job), poetry (Psalms-Song of Solomon), prophecy (Isaiah-Malachi), Gospels & Acts (Matthew-Acts), and Epistles & Revelation (Romans-Revelation). If the goal is to read through the Bible in a year, you read […]
A GOOD FIT
It’s Christmas, and I get all sentimental and stuff. Actually, I am becoming more sentimental all year long. I reflect more; I feel more; I both laugh and cry, a lot. Sometimes it’s awesome. I appreciate simple, quiet things, and I’m easily at peace. It doesn’t take much to entertain me and make me laugh, […]
THE LIGHT AND THE DARK
The world is a tough place sometimes. We have good days and many blessings, to be sure, especially living as Christians in the United States. But we don’t have to look far to see a darker side of life around the world and here as well. Poverty, abuse, disaster, tragedy, corruption, violence, and sin are […]
PROMISES
We were recently on a trip to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park with Kelli’s family. Neither of us had ever been there before, and it was beautiful. We saw lots of wildlife, especially buffalo, and the scenery was not only amazing, but restorative. Seeing God’s beautiful creation always brings such wonder and […]
THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT
The hem of His garment…the slightest touch of faith has the power to heal and restore all that is broken in us. But how do we approach Him? We see Him working on behalf of others. Their needs seem greater than our own; should we even bother Him? Do we come to Him with a […]
A FAMILIAR STATE OF AFFAIRS
The Gospels quote Jesus as saying, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me.” Selfish is such a familiar word. It has been around since Adam and Eve first tasted the fruit. We’ve known about selfish for as long as […]
WHEN THE NORTH WIND BLOWS
Here in Iowa we know about wind. Almost every day the wind is a substantial component of our weather, at least during the daylight hours. Overnight it may settle down, but during the day you better plan on holding onto whatever is in your hands. We don’t get too excited about how hard it blows […]
His Unfolding Grace 