life. faithful.

"For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the cosmos: to demonstrate the power of truth. Everyone who seeks truth hears My voice." ~John 18:37 For this I have been born... Waiting. It seems like so much of life is just waiting. I don't know about you, but I don't like waiting. I've spent a lot of time--years, even--waiting for my future to come, waiting to find out what God has in store for me. Jesus was waiting His whole life, but He wasn't waiting for His plans to all work out. He was waiting for the cross. From the moment Jesus came into the world, His purpose was to face the cross--to take the punishment we deserve onto Himself. Jesus spent His life waiting for an excruciating death on a cross which came after mockery and humiliation. He had the power to walk away from the cross, to call down legions of angels and have the armies of Heaven wipe out all those trying to kill Him. But still, He chose the cross. He c...

How many times has it happened? Everyone gets up late, wanting to sleep in instead of getting up and around but knowing that they "have to." One kid complains about not having anything she wants to wear despite all the clothes hanging in the closet, another wants to wear his rainboots even though he's dressed up. It's time to walk out the door, and the kids still don't have shoes on their feet. The ride in the car is full of "Don't touch me!" and "Just leave each other alone if you can't be nice--I'm tired of all the yelling!" being yelled out. Everyone is fuming, mad at each other and frowning out the windows. Then, you get to church. Everyone plasters on a smile as you walk through the door, and answers all the "Good morning, how are you?"s with the popular answer-- "Great, how are you?" or the even more spiritual answer-- "We're blessed!" Too often, when we walk through the doors of the ch...

We're told to have faith like a child. So many times, it seems like people think that that means we should have a simplistic faith. In 1 Samuel 17, we're told about a child and his faith. David was probably a teenager, but I have to tell you that the longer I'm around high school kids and the older I get, the more I realize that teenagers are still children. The Israelite army was scared to death, staring at the giant they were facing. None of them was willing to go out and face him, despite the king's offer of money, marriage to his daughter, and no more taxes for his whole family. When David saw Goliath, he didn't see a giant. He saw someone who was taunting the army "of the living God." (v. 26) With the faith of a child. He volunteered to fight, despite the king's dissent and the ridicule of his brothers. As he walked out to face the giant he carried nothing more than a sling and some stones, having turned down the king's offer of armo...

It's easy to get discouraged in this world when we look around ad see everything falling down. It seems like the foundation of everything good has been shaken. The wicked are attacking, working in the shadows to try to take down the remnant who still follow God. "'If the foundations are crumbling, is there hope for the righteous?'" ~Psalm 11:3 Sometimes, it feels like we have no hope. And we would be hopeless--if it weren't for God. No matter how the world is falling apart around us, the righteous still have hope. That's because we are not righteous in our own power or by our own doing, but because we are covered by the blood of the only One who is righteous, Jesus. We have hope because our righteousness is wrapped up in His, sealed by His victory over death and the grave. We have hope because our Foundation is God, and He is never shaken. "But the Eternal has not moved; He remains in His holy temple. He sits squarely on His he...

When you look around, what do you see? Do you see a world that's falling apart? One where it seems like the "bad guys" are always winning? One where people have shunned God, His commands, and His values? People have turned God' word upside down. They are calling right wrong and wrong right. The created have turned their backs on the Creator, attempting to drag His name through the mud in order to excuse their own bad behavior and poor choices. We're told that we can choose our gender, marry anyone we want, kill "unwanted" babies, get something for nothing, and bend the truth to our will. People mock God every day, and they seem to be getting their way. They parade their mockery in front of everyone, and they seem to be winning. It's easy to get discouraged, to start wondering why God is allowing all of this to happen. We know that God is in control, but sometimes we forget. "Trying to solve this mystery on my own exhausted me . ...