Motherly Fasting
When women talk about their roles and activities as mothers, rarely is fasting even mentioned, much less considered at any length. I am learning, though, that fasting has powerful implications in family life, and that we mothers do well when we put it into practice for our families. Fasting is altogether rather new to me...
In the Waiting Room
My father-in-law is in the ICU after a brain aneurism threw a clot and caused a massive stroke. He’s a healthy, strong, young 57 years old, and a selfless, humble man of God. This took us all by surprise. I cannot share the whole story here because I am mentally, emotionally, and physically tired from...
Trust-Training
My five-year-old likes to play outside. Because he can’t play outside when it’s raining, he frequently prays and asks God to make it sunny. Invariably, the sun will pop out (often immediately!), the rain will subside, and our little boy is happy that God answered his prayer. Now, we are careful to teach him that...
The Purpose for Fasting
International Missions has encouraged our movement to fast and pray for the sake of the gospel in the world. Cofer’s Chapel is also in a 40-Day fast for the future of our church. I just finished a class on spiritual disciplines with Dr. Whitney (one of which is fasting). Seems like God’s trying to tell...
Barth on Prayer
This morning I reflected on one of my favorite passages by Karl Barth. Barth was a brilliant pastor-theologian. His writing and teaching hacked away at the diseased liberalism that captivated the Christianity of his youth. Like many brilliant people, Barth was brilliantly wrong about some important things. However, this morning as I contemplated two upcoming...
The Dangers of Prayer
It’s just a fair warning: When you pray, you better be sure you want to know God’s will for what you’re praying over before you begin seeking it out. You better prepare yourself for hearing what He has to say. Far too many people that I know express this HUGE desire to understand what the...
5 Things To Do When You Don’t Hear God
Have you ever been in a situation where you needed God to make Himself clear to you RIGHT NOW? Maybe you’re a college freshman thinking, “I just stepped out in faith Lord; please confirm this!” Maybe you’re thinking about launching your own business or going to the mission field and it’s as if your prayers...
Perceptions
We are currently assisting one of our home churches in the pastor search process. As we have seen resume after resume come in, one thing is becoming clear to me: it is quite possible to get a read on people when you see how they present themselves. Granted, putting forth a resume is an effort...
One Like Bin Laden…
Upon the news of Osama Bin Laden’s recent death, I heard strong reactions from Christians that hit both ends of the spectrum. Some celebrated his death with great victory, relishing that justice had been met; others mourned the loss of a soul made in the image of God, despite his actions on earth. Still others...
Is Faith Fickle?
Over the next several weeks, I want to share with you a personal struggle that I’ve had for many years. I’ve had recurring, persistent, and nagging doubts about my salvation. Typically, we don’t expect mature believers to have any struggles with their faith. In fact, mightn’t we judge the strongest believers by the strength of...
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