We’ve all said it, haven’t we? Perhaps we heard someone share a dire emergency, or we heard of a tragic situation on the news.
We feel bad, and we want to do something or show we care in some way. … Read the rest
I’LL KEEP YOU IN MY PRAYERS
THE PECULIAR GLORY OF ADVENT
The weeks leading up to Christmas are called the Advent Season. I’ve found that knowledge of this season is hit or miss in Christian circles these days. Mainstream churches that observe an annual liturgical calendar are usually familiar with it … Read the rest
WHEN YOU WANT TO SET YOUR MIND ON THE THINGS OF GOD AND YOUR BRAIN SAYS NO.
Colossians 3:2 is a well-known verse: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” That has been my daily resolution for decades. But I have to admit that it has been increasingly difficult.… Read the rest
LAYING ASIDE THE SIN THAT CLINGS SO CLOSELY
In my previous blog post, I promised to devote the next one to the problem of dealing with sin in our pursuit of holiness. In other words: how do I know when I am sinning and what do I do … Read the rest
THE STATUS AND STATE OF OUR HOLINESS
As previously forewarned, I am on a holiness “streak” in my blog posts. It’s a subject I have been studying of late, feeling prompted to do so by the Holy Spirit. Not so much because I feel I’m not holy … Read the rest
HOLINESS AND A BELIEVER’S TRUE IDENTITY
The Lord has impressed on me to get, and pass on, deeper insight on a subject near and dear to His heart: holiness. Spoiler alert: look for a couple of posts on holiness in relation to various aspects of the … Read the rest
HOLINESS AND THE ARMOR OF GOD
Holiness is a word you don’t hear much in today’s church culture. After all, the trends of our day have focused on making it fun to go to church and that means avoiding any talk of things that do not … Read the rest
BUT LOT LINGERED
Have you ever been in a situation where you had the clear impression from the Lord that you were supposed to do something, or quit doing something, or that He seemed to be working to get you out of a … Read the rest
A PASSION FOR HIS GLORY.
Recently, we were confronted with two extreme situations, each evoking a polar opposite range of emotions.
A dear friend of ours who was suffering from glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that had sunk tentacles deep into both sides of her … Read the rest
DO NOT LOSE HEART
Have you ever prayed and prayed, perhaps even fasted, shed tears, and cried out to the Lord every day for a particular need and felt that there seemed no visible evidence of an answer? Did you wonder if there was … Read the rest
KEEPING OUR HEARTS FREE FROM IDOLS
Many of the judgments over Israel, Judah, and their surrounding countries that were pronounced through the pen and mouth of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah had to do with two things: self-reliance instead of reliance on God and idol worship … Read the rest
CAN WE SENSE THINGS IN THE SPIRIT?
On April 22, Jennifer and I crossed the St. Croix River into Wisconsin on our way to a long-anticipated prayer gathering that we hoped would launch a sustained prayer initiative for revival in the spiritually dark area of Pine County … Read the rest
AN EASTER PRAYER: OPEN MY EYES, LORD!
Holy Week 2022. As the world around us turns more violent and devoid of love by the day, the beauty of God’s love made manifest in the events we commemorate this week shines brighter.
It was His love – stronger … Read the rest
THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION OF THE DAY
It is early in the morning, still. My body begs me to stay in bed, but my hyperactive brain has begun to stir and keeps me from falling back to sleep. Groggy and tired, I swing my legs over the … Read the rest
SEAL THE TEACHING AMONG MY DISCIPLES.
Almost 3,000 years ago, God gave a peculiar command to the prophet Isaiah during the reign of King Ahaz that I believe to be of great relevance again to us today:
For the Lord spoke thus to me with his … Read the rest