I sometimes joke about my tendency to procrastinate: “The good Lord put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of tasks; I am now so far behind I shall never die!” You may or may not appreciate my humor, but there is a grain of truth there. God made us with purpose, care, and intention. He knows everything about us, is present with us wherever ...
From time to time, especially when there has been some tragedy or natural disaster, I see people interviewed on television who say that they are relying on their faith to get through it. And I wonder, what are they putting their faith in? Are they talking about the kindness of strangers or their eternal salvation? I know I’ll never know!
What ...
I have been traveling recently in the UK and one of the conveniences I have most appreciated is that it has been unnecessary for me to have or carry cash for everyday activities. Whether I’m on public transport, at a restaurant or in a convenience store, all I have needed is my phone. I present it and the transaction is charged to my account. “Charge ...
One of the more frustrating questions I get asked by friends who are alarmed by seemingly cataclysmic events in the news is, “are we in the end times?” I’m sympathetic to their concerns, but my answer is always, “I don’t know, and neither does anyone else!”. It’s my version of “remain calm and carry on”. History, as we experience it, can often seem ...
In our modern usage, the word “saint” implies an almost unreachable standard. We picture stained-glass figures, heroic martyrs, or individuals whose lives seem impossibly pure—far removed from the struggles of ordinary people navigating jobs, families, temptations, and failures. This popular understanding, however sincere, misses the biblical reality. ...
There’s a great rhetorical question in Paul’s letter to the Romans, “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31, NLT). I don’t know about you, but I don’t have to look very far in my news feeds, or especially in my social media accounts, to see a world that is increasingly ...
A recurring theme in our Bible Study group is the concept of God’s grace. I define “grace” as getting something we haven’t earned and/or don’t deserve, as opposed to “mercy” which is when we don’t suffer punishments or consequences we do deserve. I often cite Paul’s letter of encouragement to the church in Ephesus when he writes, “God saved you ...