He is the one true God and He is sovereign over all things, including the nations. While other religions may have their gods, idols, prophets, and saints, no other religion has one who died to save his followers and then rose again from the dead. Yes, my friends, Christ has risen, He has risen indeed!
We do everything we can think of and afford in order to put safety nets around our loved ones and ourselves. At all costs we want to avoid catastrophe, misfortune, and ruin. But we can’t. We simply can’t cover all the bases. Life is unpredictable, full of sin, betrayal, and destruction. So much of it is out of our control.
Hundreds of thousands of orphans were in dire need of shelter, food, medical attention, and love. At the end of the war, the Allies developed special camps for traumatized youth. The children developed and grew with the nutritious meals and good care they received. But in one of the camps, the officials became concerned because the children couldn’t sleep. Despite enough food and attention, they lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling.
As I get older, I realize more and more how quickly our days on this earth pass and how important it is that we pause and pray for a heart of wisdom — that we might live each day in a way that brings glory to God.
How can we trust God when life seems to be spinning out of control? What is it that is sending you or someone close to you into a tizzy?
Can you imagine if we pursued God like that? But that’s what He wants! He wants us to be completely smitten with Him. He doesn’t want to be scheduled in… He wants to be on our hearts and minds all day long everyday. He wants to be the Lover of our Souls and He pursues us fearlessly, even recklessly. He wants us to long for Him, to tell Him everything, to walk with Him, to want to know everything there is to know about Him, to look for Him everywhere.
Louise and I love to give… encouraging words, fishing or hunting gear, a special gift, and even my time serving others. We especially love giving anonymously to folks in real need. We’ve found a lot of joy in giving, but we use to struggle with receiving.
When I humble myself before God, recognizing my filth and need for His cleansing, He makes me clean. Like King David, I too can cry out to the Lord, “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” No matter what I’ve done, how ugly my heart has been, or “sideways” I’ve gotten, when I enter into God’s presence, the precious blood of Jesus washes away my sins, and God sees me as righteous. Unlike a carwash, though, He cleans me from the inside out.
When Laeghaire saw Patrick’s fire he ordered it smothered. Despite the efforts of many soldiers Patrick’s fire refused to be extinguished. Patrick gave a bold testimony for Jesus before them and refused to be silent. He reminded them of the great faith Elijah had and how he stood up to the prophets of Baal. Patrick believed that that same God Almighty who rescued Elijah would rescue him.
I had been a Christian since I was thirteen, growing more and more in my understanding and love for God through the years, but somehow, I’d missed a big chunk of the Good News — it was called GRACE.
Do you have a picture of how life should be? As the first-born male born to a set of parents who both came from very dysfunctional homes, my thoughts about what makes a good family were somewhat distorted. As I matured into adulthood, I thought about what a “good life” should look like: a good marriage, a good family, a good home, a good job, and some nice toys. In contrast to my upbringing, I believed that this is what I had to do to make my life good… or perfect is more like it.
What is character anyway? Character is the moral, ethical, and spiritual under-girding that rests on truth and reinforces a life, and that also resists the temptation to compromise. It is doing the right thing on purpose. And it is doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.
With all our security systems, yearly physicals, savings accounts, and pension plans, the only real peace we can find comes from knowing that we will never face life alone. Security is important, but can really only be found in the presence of God. The psalmist, David, understood this.
When we face trials and tragedies, it’s helpful to see our lives as being subject to two forces — surface winds and ocean currents. The winds represent everything changeable, unpredictable, and distressing. But operating simultaneously with these gusts and gales is another force that’s even more powerful. It is the sure movement of God’s wise and sovereign purposes, the deep flow of His unchanging love.
Recently, I met a young man whose life typifies one of the greatest militaries and spiritual leaders of the Old Testament, Joshua the son of Nun: Guyvenson Montes.