Jesus lamented. He was hurting deeply, and he expressed that hurt to God. We don’t normally think about Jesus like that, complaining to God. Yet arguably the most famous example of spoken lament comes from Psalm 22, where the psalmist, David, writes, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It’s famous because JesusContinue reading “When you cry out to God, and he doesn’t seem to answer – Ezekiel 19, Part 2”
Tag Archives: psalms of lament
Crying as a spiritual practice – Ezekiel 19, Part 1
I recently attended the baptism of my niece. It was wonderful to hear her share the story of her faith in Christ, her commitment to him, and why she wanted to be baptized. There was so much joy as my brother-in-law baptized her. That moment when she rose up out of the water, as itContinue reading “Crying as a spiritual practice – Ezekiel 19, Part 1”
Two Marks of a Healthy Church – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 1
What is a healthy church? What is a dead church? What is a failing church? How do we measure the success of a church? As we continue our series studying the New Testament letter, Colossians, Paul shares two practices that mark a healthy church. Turn to Colossians 4:2. We are reading verses 2-6. Pause thisContinue reading “Two Marks of a Healthy Church – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 1”
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”
How to lament: keep holding on to God
This week we have been studying Psalm 126 which reminds us that when you plant seeds of sorrow, God can give you a harvest of joy. In my previous post, I talked about the difficulty of gardening, and how the psalmist uses that as a metaphor for life. But after all the clearing, tilling, weeding, and watering,Continue reading “How to lament: keep holding on to God”
What if America was invaded? A thought project to teach us how to be restored
Imagine that some nation invaded the USA, defeated us, and started carrying us away back to their land where we worked for them as slaves! How would that feel? Horrible, right? And life in that foreign land would not be like life here. It would be very, very hard. And we would cry out inContinue reading “What if America was invaded? A thought project to teach us how to be restored”
Do you struggle with FOMO?
Do you struggle with FOMO? Fear of missing out. I recently read an article where a guy talked about his fear of missing out. Because of the prevalence of social media in our society, and the quick access to social media accounts on our phones, FOMO is a real thing for many. The author ofContinue reading “Do you struggle with FOMO?”
When you cry out to God over and over and he doesn’t respond
Have you ever waited for something a long time? I feel like I regularly get in the store check-out line that has the longest wait. It’s uncanny. But that kind of wait is not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about waiting for something for months or years, and often the waiting involves pain. ItContinue reading “When you cry out to God over and over and he doesn’t respond”
When Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough
In the morning, my family has a routine. Our two kids still at home, one middle schooler, one elementary, get ready for school while we are watching the local news. Then at 7am we switch over to CBS for their morning show. A few days ago, we were surprised to hear that CBS fired oneContinue reading “When Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough”
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