Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4) Those were the famous last words of mankind before God confused the one language and scattered the various peoples across the earth. The motivation behind ... [Continue Reading]
Pleasing God (Genesis 4-7)
Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. (Genesis 5:24) Trust is the key to any relationship, and Enoch was a man of trust. Rather than doubting God or living life his own way, he trusted God and lived in a way that was pleasing to Him. How do we know this? We know because Enoch never experienced death. Rather than losing life ... [Continue Reading]
A Fresh Start (Genesis 1-3)
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. (Genesis 3:2) It's remarkable to me that Adam decided to name his wife, "Eve." After all, one of the biggest let-downs of human history had just occurred. God created this masterful new world, and the new man and his wife were given one rule: don't eat from the tree. One rule. And they ... [Continue Reading]
Join Me On a Journey
Starting today (August 4, 2013), I am reading through the Bible chronologically and blogging through my journey each day. I'd love for you to join me in this! If you'd like to participate, all you need to do is download a copy of the reading plan and read along. I will post each evening in response to the day's reading. Please feel free to comment on my blog posts and ... [Continue Reading]
Accidental Excellence
When I was a child, my parents signed me up for piano lessons. I had various opportunities to play in front of other people, but I was always stressed out by the idea that I might make a mistake or play the wrong note. When I did hit the wrong keys, my hands would start shaking and then I would make even more mistakes. The result was that I never wanted to play in front ... [Continue Reading]
Finding Hope
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 Twelve years ago I was home from college for the summer, and I found an old box of letters that my Grandma had written to our family over the years. One particular letter had a profound impact on me when I read it then, and today I was reminded of it. My ... [Continue Reading]
Reaching Out to God
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:7-8a There are times when God seems silent. I remember my freshman year in college when I had a crisis of faith. I was sitting in Sunday school one morning, and a doubt crept into my mind: what if all of this is fake? What if God ... [Continue Reading]
Oh, What to Do!
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 If I had a black marker that I could use in my Bible to mark out the things that I don’t like, this verse would probably make the list. To be friends with people here on earth ... [Continue Reading]
Who is Your Provider?
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. James 4:2 One of my least favorite things to do is to ask people for money (unless, of course, I’m getting change for my bill at the grocery store). That’s why God’s call on Kari and me to move to Brazil was such a challenge: we ... [Continue Reading]
Take a Deep Breath
And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:18 Have you ever had one of those moments when you’re so fired up about something that you can barely breathe? Maybe you start talking so rapidly that you’re out of breath, or you’re so angry you can’t even get the words out. I have had days like that. And then when you finally do ... [Continue Reading]
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