Faith

When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” (II Kings 5:25) No matter where you go, God is there. Jonah could not outswim God. Paul ran into God on the dusty Damascus road. Even King David pondered the inescapability from God: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I …

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? (Job 38:4). Until and unless you accept God as more than a curious entity swirling around somewhere in outerspace, you will have warped views about Him, yourself, and this thing called life. This question confronts us with who God is and affirms His sovereign control. The story of Job confirms he …

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) Initially, that may sound like a weird question. Um, God; I’m right here. You know all things so You already know that answer. Next question, please. Yes, He does know all things. But the amazing thing about God’s questions is that He asks them not for His …

One night my friend was at my house pretty late and was about to head home. She went to the door to grab her purse, keys, and shoes … and her keys were no where to be found! She looked in her purse a billion times, peeked in her car and around it, retraced her steps throughout my home. We …

When was the last time you got really sunburned? My wife and I recently spent a week on vacation at a Central American resort. It was on a beautiful, relaxing, all-inclusive, beach-front golfing community so you can imagine the peaceful approach we took to the usual hectic, labor-intensive parts of life — preparing meals, working, thinking…. It was a pampered week …

Sometimes it’s hard to keep it together when life is falling apart. Twelve years ago I was holding my 8-week-old infant tightly to my chest as I watched flames licking the outside of my home. The soggy April ground seeped through my socks as I stood in the backyard watching my house burn from the top down. My 2-year-old thought it …

Hey, God called while you were out and left a message for you. He has some questions and wants you to call Him back with the answers. Wouldn’t it be remarkable if we could speak directly and audibly with God whenever we had a question? I suspect your heart would skip a beat (as would mine!) if you noticed a …

I’m going to state the obvious: Rejection hurts! Rejection pierces deep into our soul realm where genuine pain is triggered. Rejection used to be limited to immediate social circles or dating relationships. Now the serious and traumatic types resulting from divorce, job loss, betrayal and family abandonment are paralyzing. They are the type that plague us and keep us from …

Pick up any self-help book, and it’ll tell you that an “attitude of gratitude” is the key to changing your life. Gratitude shifts your focus from the negative to the positive, they say. It will alter your mindset and make you happier. I don’t disagree, but I’d like to suggest that there’s more to it — another level, perhaps. Of all the …

We all know the words we speak to each other are very powerful. They can either help or hurt, encourage or discourage, build up or tear down. And we’ve heard so often — both as children and adults, both in and out of the church — how important it is to use our words rightly for others’ benefit. We know …