Are the difficult times in life good or bad? You might read that and think, “How could difficult times ever be good?” Well, when we experience suffering, we tend to feel more helpless and needy and thus we pray more. Increased levels of communication with God, as with any relationship in which greater communication almostContinue reading “This too shall pass? [False ideas Christians believe about…difficulty. Part 4]”
Tag Archives: god
When life crushes you [False ideas Christians believe about…difficulty. Part 2]
Have you been there? The feeling of life crushing down on you, and you just want to crawl into a ball. Most of us have experienced that awful feeling, probably numerous times in our lives. We feel we can’t handle life, and wonder if we are failures. In the middle of the pain, we raiseContinue reading “When life crushes you [False ideas Christians believe about…difficulty. Part 2]”
God won’t give you more than you can handle? [False ideas Christians believe about…difficulty. Part 1]
If you’ve ever been going through a really difficulty time, you may have heard one of the following statements: God won’t give you more than you can handle. God helps those who help themselves. During times of suffering, you’ll be closer to God. This, too, shall pass. We hear them regularly, don’t we? We interactContinue reading “God won’t give you more than you can handle? [False ideas Christians believe about…difficulty. Part 1]”
How God’s mercy changes the future [How God feels about our fear – Deuteronomy 31-34, part 3]
Do you feel stuck? Maybe you see some light breaking through the darkness, but there is a wall, a forest that seems like it is blocking the way. Maybe it feels like you will never get past the difficult situation you face. When we are in the middle of pain, we can wonder if GodContinue reading “How God’s mercy changes the future [How God feels about our fear – Deuteronomy 31-34, part 3]”
God wants to set you on fire [Second Sunday of Advent, part 2]
People are waiting for God to return. He is coming, and he tells us it could be surprising. He doesn’t mean “surprising” in the sense of us not knowing the timing of his return. We learned in part 1 of this series on the Lectionary readings for the second Sunday of Advent that God’s arrivalContinue reading “God wants to set you on fire [Second Sunday of Advent, part 2]”
The danger of echo-chambers [God’s heart for people to find the truth, part 1]
Have you heard of “echo chambers”? I was listening to a podcast this week where a guy said that in our day and age, especially because of the many, many choices we have for news, and because of social media, that Christians too often live in an echo chamber. Echo chambers are rooms where youContinue reading “The danger of echo-chambers [God’s heart for people to find the truth, part 1]”
A story about what happens after people die
What happens after a person dies? My uncle recently sent me this story, author unknown, that tries to answer that question. On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by theContinue reading “A story about what happens after people die”
The one thing you need (to make it as a stranger in the world)
In a world of partiality and discrimination and bias, where is the one place that still considers everyone impartially? The church? Nope. Martin Luther King Jr. said years ago that Sunday morning is one of the most racially segregated places in America, and it is still true today. I read an article this week thatContinue reading “The one thing you need (to make it as a stranger in the world)”
How Distracted I Was From God (What I Learned on Sabbatical, Part 2)
On January 1st, I started a sabbatical daily log. On that day I wrote three paragraphs about what was happening in the life of the Kime Family, and mixed in there were these five words: “I deactivated my Facebook account.” For those of you who use Facebook, deactivating your account might feel like a bigContinue reading “How Distracted I Was From God (What I Learned on Sabbatical, Part 2)”
A Guided Lament you can use right now
Do we lament when life is so rotten and dark that we have no where else to turn? Yes. Do we lament when there is still hope, but much work yet to be done? Yes. What we have seen this Advent as we’ve studied psalms of lament, is that lament is a faithful, clinging toContinue reading “A Guided Lament you can use right now”
Engaging Scripture 