BLOG––Encouraged by Faith

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...

Have you ever heard the saying, “Wherever you are, BE?" Maybe the saying isn’t grammatically correct BUT, the saying has resonated with me from the first time I heard it.   It’s meant to get our attention and help us to realize that wherever we are placed at a moment...

Stephen the Martyr is preaching while he’s dying. His words ignite hate in the hearers. We have the text in Acts 7. The angry sweating mob throw their coats to an approving Saul. He condones this act of silencing Stephen the traitor. But Stephen continues speaking and I doubt the crowd is...