Wrestling with Life

Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. – Genesis 32:24 (NASB) Genesis 32:24-32 is commonly referred to as the passage where Jacob wrestled with God. When I recently read these verses, it occurred to me that it is life I wrestle with, not God. It seems life is full […]

Accepting Adversity?

Can suffering be a calling? This is certainly a question I have asked many times in my life after going through traumatic periods. There is no doubt that these trials in my life changed me. It set before me a basic question of how much do I trust that God is at work in the […]

Standing Against Those Who Taunt You

They stand there, towering over you; ridiculing you; taunting you; demeaning you. They mock you; belittle your faith in Jesus; and talk of their superiority. They defy you and your faith in God. The voices rise up against you. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And […]

Ship of Faith

It wasn’t necessarily Noah’s carpentry ability or his animal husbandry skills that qualified him for God’s command to build an ark. What qualified Noah for God’s calling to build an ark? Genesis 6:9 tells us, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” Based on […]

Introducing a New Series “Answering the Call”

The Bible is full of examples of people responding to God’s call. When I started to look at specific examples, I became intrigued by the moment between the call and the response of the person. What happened in that moment that caused these people to respond the way they did to God’s call, and what […]

Sunday Praise

Praise the LORD!Praise God in His sanctuary;Praise Him in His mighty expanse.Praise Him for His mighty deeds;Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.Praise Him with trumpet sound;Praise Him with harp and lyre.Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.Praise Him with loud cymbals;Praise Him with resounding cymbals.Let everything that has breath […]

A Child is Born

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;And the government will rest on His shoulders;And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6, NASB And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as […]

Sunday Praise

God be gracious to us and bless us,And cause His face to shine upon us—Selah.That Your way may be known on the earth,Your salvation among all nations.Let the peoples praise You, O God;Let all the peoples praise You. – Psalm 67:1-3, NASB

Sunday Praise

Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,Who alone works wonders.And blessed be His glorious name forever;And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen. – Psalm 72:18-19 (NASB)

The Evidence of God in You

Your faith in Jesus—your faithfulness in serving Him—is evident to those around you even if you don’t say a word to them. We see this in 1 Samuel 16 where Samuel anointed David and “the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward (verse 13).” Tragically, “the Spirit of the LORD […]