There is a remarkable story from the days of Napoleon. One of his generals, Massena, marched with eighteen thousand soldiers to an Austrian town that had no means of defending itself. The town leaders gathered and concluded that surrender was their only option. Yet before they made that decision, the elderly dean of the local
Ring the Bells of Faith Read More »
Hebrews 11 is the great hall of faith. We read the names and we marvel. Abel worshipped. Enoch walked with God. Noah built. Abraham obeyed. Moses chose the reproach of Christ over the treasures of Egypt. Some built arks, and some built walls. Some defeated kingdoms, and some were cut in two. They were not
Looking Unto Jesus Read More »
I recently heard a clip from a commencement address where the speaker challenged graduates to remember the role that luck plays in success. Although I did not listen to the entire speech, the point I heard was simple: none of us gets where we are entirely by our own effort. There are opportunities we did
There are times in life when we do not need another explanation as much as we need the reminder that God is near. The storm may still be blowing, the questions may still be unanswered, and the burden may still be heavy, but the child of God has this blessed assurance: we are not facing
When God Is in the Midst Read More »
Paul writes with the heart of a pastor who is deeply concerned for the people he loves. His fear was not that the Corinthians would abandon religion altogether, but that they would be drawn away from the pure and simple devotion that belongs to Christ. The devil does not always begin by trying to make
The Simplicity That Is in Christ Read More »
Faith is something every Christian desires, yet many of us feel the same burden the disciples felt when they cried, “Lord, increase our faith.” Life has a way of exposing how small our faith can be. When trials come, bills pile up, prayers seem unanswered, or the future feels uncertain, we quickly realize how much
Lord, Increase Our Faith Read More »
Someone once said that some people are like Easter eggs—beautifully decorated on the outside but hard-boiled on the inside. The shell is colorful and impressive, but beneath the surface there is something rigid and unyielding. It’s a humorous illustration, yet it reveals a serious spiritual truth about human nature. Jesus confronted this same problem during
Painted Outside, Hardened Inside Read More »
We live in a generation that has more information than ever before—yet more anxiety than ever as well. Psychologist Daniel Gilbert once noted that people often suffer more from uncertainty than from actual hardship. In one experiment, individuals who didn’t know when a painful shock would come experienced more stress than those who knew exactly
When the Future Feels Foggy Read More »
