BLOG––Encouraged by Faith

We have buried children decades before we expected. We suffer from debilitating diseases. We have listened to descriptions of a bleak prognosis. We are stressed with the burden of caring for aging parents. We are shamed by our perpetual fall into the same sins. We are chased by our godless...

I am, generally speaking, a positive person and am truly grateful to God for everything. But, there are times that I just simply get exhausted from the "messaging" that occupies my own mind and that is everywhere in the world. You know, the voices of others and your own sometimes doubting...

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all...

My mouth has got me into trouble a few times recently, and not just my mouth. It has also been my written words and my facial expressions as well. My words have not been as carefully chosen as they should be.  I have offended, and worse, hurt people I love dearly, and whom God loves. An...

“The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.”Leviticus 22:1-2 NIV It’s as if babies instinctively know the sacred. As if they...

Most of my life I’ve wanted to be what God wants me to be. I’ll admit there were some times when that was not my intent. I was fortunate to survive those interludes of self-centered folly, and I consider it a blessing from God to have experienced a few death-defying thrills without...

    Lately, I have been busy, but feel I am accomplishing little. It is the sort of busyness our Western culture strangely seems to value. I could enumerate several tasks I have completed throughout the day, yet the weightier ones, the ones which possess the most significance seem to...

The gospels are full of interesting clues about how Christ handled himself while he lived on earth. One thing is apparent about his way of life: whenever he was tired, overwhelmed or grieved, he sought solitude. When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded, he withdrew to a private...

I listened to a sermon a couple of years ago that encouraged us as believers to ask one or two people in our trusted circle the question,  “What’s it like to BE, on the other side of ME?”It is a great question, isn’t it? During the sermon, the guest speaker...

I have resisted or rebelled against human authority all my life. I don’t like to be controlled by others. I hate to be pushed or pressured to conform to anyone else’s expectations. My first response to coercion or threat is defensive, even before thought. As a child I dreamed of...