Love and encouragement from an imperfect mom and her fun teen daughters. We welcome you to live life with us.
blogs that talk about the Bible and our Christian faith
Even when God answers our prayers, he does not always make our lives easier. God does not want to make us “happy and comfortable” (at least not all the time) but rather holy and more like Jesus all the time (the happiness and comfort come some of the time.)As a result Satan tempts us to … Read more Answered Prayers Not Easier Life
While the Gospel tells sinners Jesus died to save them if they surrender to him, His personal care for them “speaks” differently to each individual. Some people are abused and yearn for the justice God promises that Jesus will one day fully bring. Some lonely people seek the Gospel’s promise of adoption as Christ brings … Read more Speaking the Gospel Differently to Each Person
Actually Satan’s Tricks Have you ever experienced a thought so compelling it kept coming back to your mind? You just couldn’t shake the thought. It may have sounded reasonable, especially if it kept coming back to your thoughts. If that thought seemed realistic, but it brought discouragement and shame, it may have been a trick … Read more Compelling thoughts…
We must guard against being controlled by any anger, our own or other people’s. I considered this when I accidentally misread Psalm 4:4a as “Don’t sin by letting your anger control you.” When I re-read my notes, I realized the word “your” was not in that verse. While I fight my own anger, I might … Read more Controlled by Other People’s Anger
Critics say God changes his mind and therefore we cannot trust him. These critics often speak of Bible books like Jonah where God promised punishment but then God did not destroy Nineveh and many other cities like it where people repented. Critics say God does not follow through on his threats. But God spoke through … Read more Does God Change?
We might condemn or judge others because of biases we don’t recognize. I know, because I have wrongly judged people (usually assuming they are arrogant) because of the pain in my life. As a socially awkward child, I was bullied, and I never forgot the pride of the children who looked down on me and … Read more Hidden Bias and Condemning Thoughts
Without surrendering to God’s discipline (through suffering) we cannot fully serve him. Those who resent and resist their suffering deny the glory they could have brought God. Unless we acknowledge that God has a right to discipline us, and we give him thanks during our pain, we waste our suffering and likely prolong it. If … Read more Surrendered Suffering Creates Power to Serve God
While God calls us to forgive others, he does not call us to reconcile with everyone. In fact, God calls us to shun so-called “believers” who continue to hurt us without remorse or repentance (Matt. 18:17.) But what do we do about people who hurt us and do say, “I’m sorry,” but then they hurt … Read more Forgiveness or Detachment?
Even if people do not call you bad names based upon your sins and weaknesses (as I described in last week’s post “Not Your Name,”) they may speak your name with such contempt that you can tell they only see you based upon your past weaknesses or sin. They have come to view your name … Read more Redeemed Name
… past sins don’t identify you The enemy calls us cruel names and identifies us by our sins and weaknesses, while God calls us by our redeemed and esteemed self. When we hear names like Rahab or Thomas, do we call them “Rahab the Prostitute” or “Doubting Thomas”? Let’s look into Scripture and see what … Read more Not Your Name