But when I am weak, is when He is strong — Outside my study window, the wind is doing The Dance of The Tree Branches. Verse One goes Up and Down, Around and Side to Side, while the second verse starts: “Let’s see how many branches we can break off.” Hanging on At the end of one slender branch, a cluster of salmon-pink…

When do you stop to understand? — In Genesis (Chapters 1–2), we learn God made man and woman in His image. But sin entered the Garden (Genesis 3:6–7) and humankind’s perfect connection to Him was severed. And since then, believers have wrestled with their image of the Lord. We try to remake Him to be like us…

She decided to commit suicide, and her family objected — When I saw my friend last week, she was visibly upset. Her 98-year-old aunt had decided to commit suicide. At first, I was shocked. But as my friend talked more about the situation, I couldn’t help thinking, “I don’t blame the woman for her decision.” The aunt had lived a…

There’s nothing like daffodils to lift my spirit

Every Christian’s path to faith is different. Here’s mine — My grandmother prayed for me I believe my spiritual journey began before I was born. Scripture says God knew me in the womb. I also had a godly grandmother on my dad’s side who probably started praying for me as soon as she got the news. I know she prayed for me as long as…

The thoughts we cultivate will transform us — At the end of every meeting of our church youth group when I was young, there was one thing we always did. Whether it was a regular meeting at the church or a beach party, at the end we gathered in a circle, held hands, and recited this benediction together: …

An open response to Sherry McGuinn — Sherry, this morning as I was preparing to face the world I lay in bed, opened up Medium and saw your story: Age is the Bane of my Existence Perhaps you’ll relate to my lack of embracementmedium.com I could not help but respond. You said: “I’m reaching out to see who feels as I do and how you cope with such ruminations.” Here’s my answer. …

Can you talk someone into the Christian faith? — Vaccinated against Christianity During the past few weeks, I’ve been reading What Really Matters by Eugenia Price. Ms. Price didn’t decide to follow Jesus until she was thirty-three years old, even though she’d been raised in a church. When she went off to college she was glad to be free of the religious…

No matter what you’ve done, what you believe makes all the difference between hope and despair — Jesus Came to Earth to Serve, to Die, and to Save It’s safe to say that no one followed Jesus believing he would later be arrested and crucified. Rather most followed him because they believed he was the Christ — the one who would overthrow the Romans who ruled them. They expected a conquering king. Both Peter and Judas Iscariot probably…

Only God knows for sure, but C.S. Lewis offers one viewpoint in The Chronicles of Narnia — What is the spiritual fate of those who follow a non-Christian religion? Some of the most frequent questions I hear from non-Christians are What about those who have never heard about Jesus? What about those raised in a culture where another religion is dominant? Is God going to condemn people who never had a chance to believe in Christ?

Aren’t all religions just different roads to the same destination? — Many people believe that the great world religions have the same basic teachings and lead to the same spiritual destination. Is it true that different religions worship the same God under different names? Does it matter which religious path you choose as long as it makes you happy? Many people…

Among all the artificial lights of the Christmas season, will you find the true Light? — On December nights my neighborhood becomes a multicolor light show. As I walk past my neighbors’ homes, many yards are decorated with lighted inflated Santas, Charlie Browns, nativities, and any number of other popular decorations. Taken together, they illuminate our spiritual confusion. …

The sky is free every day for all people everywhere to enjoy — Nature is God’s gift to us all We take for granted many of our greatest blessings. One of these is nature itself. I’m always amazed at its complexity and diversity. God could have plunked us down into a desert with springs of water and let us eat manna every day. But He didn’t. He gave us endless…

Will your decisions help or hurt those around you and those who follow you in this world? — What you decide today has a ripple effect on world history I’m currently rereading The Tapestry by the late Edith Schaeffer, the wife of the late Francis Schaeffer. Together this couple decided, with God’s guidance, to leave a secure life in the United States and begin the L’Abri ministry in Switzerland. People all over the world who have sought to find…

There’s no such thing as a self-sufficient gardener — Gardening can’t be rushed. In my opinion, that’s as it should be. For almost anything else it seems we hope for quick results. We get frustrated if there’s a slow car in front of us or if we have two people ahead of us in a line. In the Bible…

What is God's agenda? — David’s political enemies were trying to destroy him. He wrote the words below around 1060 B.C. to describe how he felt as he considered their plots against him. These words seem just as appropriate in the political climate of the United States in December 2020 as they were when David…

Human wisdom versus the power of God — And I, when I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much…

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised. — Psalm 113:3. How is this even possible? — How Is It Possible to Praise the Lord All Day? As we go about our daily lives, we have chores to do, children who need our complete attention, bosses who expect to have us devote our best efforts to the work they pay us to do, phones to answer, etc. Students have classes to attend, papers to write, and books…

The beauty of the iris hides its mysteries within Few flowers wear purple as well as the iris. And few flowers are as intriguing. Irises normally bloom in April here, but this one surprised me by blooming again in December. …

The One who made me a living soul is the only one who can take care of my soul and spirit — God is infinite. The sky only seems so The sky is the closest I can get to seeing infinity. It goes on and on as far as the eye can see. When I look up I often feel I’m in the bottom of a bowl that has no top. The clouds spread out in every direction. I often…