How Good He Is: Water, Blood & Oil
“I made My vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.” – Ezekiel 16:8-9 These obscure verses from the prophet Ezekiel’s book have me thinking today about…
Where Patience (His, Not Yours) Brings You
Today, it would serve us well to slow down a bit, catch our breath, and think upon the patience of God. We look at a world blanketed in unbelief, pulsing with immorality, boiling with outrage, and ringing with the noise of absurdity, so it is easy for us to acknowledge that God is very patient…with…
Becoming Believing Believers
Recently, I have been thinking much on the issue of unbelief. It’s kind of an ugly word…unbelief. In the context of Christianity, unbelief is the dreaded enemy of our soul. Unbelief ruins many more Christian lives than immorality – it just isn’t as obvious to the eye. So many of us might be tempted to…
A Nearly-15-Year Breakup
I was going through some old files on my hard drive and stumbled across this breakup letter I wrote in 2005. Sometimes I forget how long the process has been for me to live as one fully extracted from the trappings of status-quo, Bible-Belt Christianity. Based on the original date, I am going on my…
What God Offers In Our Battles
Psalm 18:32-34 – “The God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” Sometimes, we sense inwardly that we…
Release It & God Will Remove It
There is a cooperation between the Christian and God. He is sovereign, so God has total power and authority over all of His creation, yet God invites His people to cooperate with Him in order for their lives to arrive at the place He appoints for them. There is no legitimate way to presume that…
Closing the Vent
There are a couple of things swirling about in my heart as I get back into my office for the first time today in over a week. Last week, I spent an uninterrupted week in a prayer room in Missouri, listening for the voice of God, reading His word, interceding for numerous things and writing…
Confidence & Assurance With God
There is a way in which to live the Christian life that results in a strong sense of consistent inner assurance that things are well between you and God. There is another way in which to live the Christian life that is lacking that sense of assurance. You may be surprised that the Father desires…
Make Your Mouth Count
Do you have more regrets about the things that you said (and wished you had not) or things you didn’t say (but now wished you had)? Most of us speak more than we might realize and, if you are of the fairer gender, you speak nearly three times as many daily words as your male…
Your Bouts With Doubts
The stoutest of faiths will occasionally experience the deepest of shaking. Over and over again the Scripture magnifies the holiness of our Supreme God. He is the merciful and loving Father, The Almighty, unblemished in His nature, never-failing, inseparable from His holy love, compassionate yet just, lavish in grace, steadfast in patience, and perfect in…