Christian Living

God can take the everyday, ordinary and turn it into a miracle. Would you consider yourself everyday, ordinary?

You’ve heard the quote: “God is more concerned with our character than our comfort.” It’s a true statement, but it’s not the whole story.

We are all aware of our need to communicate—it starts early in life. In order for a baby to communicate that he needs something, he will cry. It is amazing how effective a baby can be at communicating without words. After a while, we learn our first word, and then it isn’t long before we are talking a blue-streak.

In early 1940 the British and their allies sent a force of some 350,000 men into the low countries of Europe to stem the tide of German advance into France, Belgium, and Holland. Caught in a brilliant pincer movement by the invading German forces, the beleaguered British Expeditionary Force was pushed back to the beaches of the small Belgian town of Dunkirk.

You know those seasons when you are so busy you hardly feel you have time to even look at your to do list? And you consider what would happen to your family if you actually lost your mind?

We serve a God who is powerful. There is nothing too hard for Him, and with Him all things are possible!

Peter was a man who, like all of us, was hindered by his flesh. He often spoke too soon, made promises he could not keep, and allowed his temper to get the best of him.

Here’s a faith-building exercise: Take one of the miracles of the Bible—any miracle will do—and write a list of reasons why it couldn’t be done.

Have you ever made a purchase at the store and realized later that you were overcharged by several dollars? The happiness of the shopping excursion was soon replaced with frustration. Just as Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup, we often sell our happiness for a few dollars!

As much as we wish it wasn’t so, the truth is, all of us have a mean streak. The “works of the flesh” (our flesh) include “hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife” (Galatians 5:19–20). We all have flesh, our flesh is selfish, and the selfishness of our flesh often comes out in meanness.

You know the traction-gaining tool for social media: hashtags. Whether it’s #WeAreN or #icebucketchallenge, people turn to hashtags to use their Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram posts to make a difference.

Every time I think I have it rough, the Lord causes me to think about Job. I am not sure there was another man who was tried to the breaking point like Job was.

The writer of Hebrews is making a fairly simple point: the way to maturity—solid, biblical maturity—is not becoming an intelligent person but becoming an obedient person.

If you’re like me, not everything on your to-do list or project list gets done. And yet, if you’re like me, it’s vital that certain projects do get done. Of course, the difference in what gets done and what doesn’t get done fundamentally relates to the choices we make in preparation and execution.

Several years ago, I preached at a church about forty-five minutes away from where I pastor. The folks there learned that I was to preach at another church in the area.

The Apostle Paul told the church at Corinth about another church on which God had bestowed a special grace. That church was in Macedonia and that grace involved their giving (2 Corinthians 8:1–15).

God is a miracle-working God! “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” (Jeremiah 32:17). Amazingly to me, however, is the fact that He allows us to have a part in the work He is doing. God could do things all by Himself as He did when He created the universe, but He desires to involve us in His miraculous works.

It’s easy to explain why we need renewal because all of us can easily identify with the all-too-familiar sense of depletion. But what do we do when we come to this point? How do we renew?

One event I look forward to each year is our annual summer family vacation. I have always loved this special, memory-making time with my husband and children. And while in recent days the length and locations have adapted to our growing family (yay for grandkids!), we all still enjoy this yearly time together.

Often we read stories of great men of God in the Bible and wonder if we can ever be used of God in the way they were used. The truth is they were men, just like you and me. They faced the same battles that all men face.