The most unwanted assignment
Sitting in my car at that gas station on that winter afternoon, staring at Isaiah 58:1, I began to cry ... Oh. Lord. Not. This. Assignment.
(c) jwmpap
Living by the Spirit
A person can be a Christian, yet not live by the Spirit. Ah, but that's not what our Lord intends.
Dear weary one, can we talk about the spirit realm?
Today, I’m standing in the middle of a road that leads to a bridge out, sounding a cry I’ve sounded before. I’m seeking with all my heart to echo what the Lord has cried out to me when he's found me hurtling down this road. And also, I’m seeking to express what God has taught me as I've cried back to him, “I’m trying! But it’s impossible! I cannot stop!”
When Christian leaders reject God
I saw it for the first time in a meeting I called and led. No. Actually: I realized then what I had been seeing for years. It broke my heart. I’ve tried to tell the story twice before. Both times, I described what happened in that meeting, but did not include any backstory. Now it’s time to write the whole story. Bring honor to your name, holy Lord.
Journey to a divided heart
In the beginning, a divided heart may look very much like an undivided one. It’s as if you’ve reached a subtle fork in the road, where the two paths before you appear to run side-by-side. It seems you can take both paths at the same time. It seems you don’t have to choose. Lord, help us to learn from a king who did not.
The LORD is with you, mighty warrior
May I tell you a story? It’s a true story. And it shows what can happen when God sees courage in you that you do not see.
Celebrating God at his appointed times
Long ago, God designed three times of celebration, times when his people, still today, can say to the press and the stress of life: “You wait a minute, while I delight in the Lord.”
The flappable Deborah Bread
Something deep within me cries to be unflappable. But, as this incident from years ago reminds me, flapping can lead to laughing.
A validation blessing
“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountain crags, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” (Song 2:14 NET)
Cries of the shunned
In the middle of that dark-valley time, I often found myself alone with God, crying aloud and writing passionately in my journal. During that time too, I came to identify with David, the shepherd-poet-warrior-king, in ways I had not before. For David was also ostracized by people he trusted. And he cried out in distress - and in faith.
The blessing of the Lord
This is the Lord’s blessing: He entrusts himself to us. As we receive him, he delights in us. Out of this greatest blessing, all his other good gifts flow.
From the Black Sea to Red Square
Thirty years after I first heard this song - and visited these places - I'm listening again and crying and praying again for the peoples of Ukraine and Russia.