• man sitting on grassy sand looking down
    Spirit

    Levi – From Cursed to Chosen

    A trip through the book of Genesis reminds us that the Bible is full of way more stories than just Adam & Eve or Noah’s Ark. In reality, some stories aren’t exactly Sunday school friendly, and many will have you questioning why God would have wanted them written at all. Take Jacob for example, the grandson of mighty Abraham, Father of many nations. Jacob wrestled with God and from him came the 12 tribes of Israel. Talk about a life of worthiness. But read about Jacob’s life of deceit, lack of faith, and poor decisions, and then suddenly you start to wonder why God felt he deserved to be a…

  • sheep
    Spirit

    If You Love Me…

    Whenever I’m going through something, I always try to find someone in the Bible who went through a similar experience. Job, Paul, Jonah, Ruth – there’s always someone I can relate to and learn from. This time, it’s Peter. We all know Peter. The walking-on-water, Jesus-denying, ear-slicing, ever faithful Peter. Peter was enthusiastic (to say the least) about pleasing Jesus. He wanted to make Jesus proud and offer his fully devoted service. He wanted to show just how much he believed and how faithful he was. Yet, he was always tripping up. Always failing. Always falling. But hiccups and all, he kept pursuing Jesus. One of the last conversations Jesus…

  • sillhouette of woman spinning and running in field of morning sun
    Chronic Illness,  Spirit

    Count It All Joy

    Earlier this month, I had my second brain surgery. I’ll save the details for another post, but overall it went very well. One might even go as far as to say it was successful – I haven’t had any high pressure symptoms since. The recovery process on the other hand was a different story. While on the surface, all is technically going well, there’s still so much more to recovery that never seems to be seen or heard. Take the post-surgery depression for example. In all honesty, I don’t even want to call it that because I know how much worse it could truly be. There is just no doubt…

  • woman holding up sign saying Jesus in the city streetswhile people are blurred walking around her
    Spirit

    Jesus Loves You – But Not Your Sin

     (A Preface to “When God Brings Judgment – An Isaiah 1 Commentary”) God is many things. Most notably, we know Him as our Creator and Savior, our Healer and Redeemer. God is love. He is just. He is patient and full of grace and mercy. Yes, God is a good God. So much so that we refer to Him as Our Father. He cares for us endlessly and only wants the best for us. But like a Father, God has rules. Laws – commandments, actually. And He expects us to obey them like any parent would desire of their child. But when any parent sees their child is being disruptive…

  • dessert near Israel
    Spirit

    When God Brings Judgment – An Isaiah 1 Commentary

    The following post is a commentary on Isaiah 1:2-20. Like a parent, there are times that our Father must bring judgment upon His children. But also like a parent, He only ever wants what is best for us.  (Read Preface here) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: God is calling all of creation to be a witness. Has He not give us everything? Have we not acted like rebellious children? Let the world around us bear witness to our behavior and who He is. And this is who He is: “I have nourished and brought up children, He has been a loving, providing…

  • close up of woman's light brown eyes
    Chronic Illness,  Spirit

    A Strange Way of Healing

    Last month, I relapsed. What I thought would end as beautiful memories of the zoo and park with my family turned out to be days of pain and pressure. I overdid it, and I relapsed. You may be wondering how that can be. What happened to being healed? Trust me, I was asking God the same thing. I knew I couldn’t doubt what God had promised, but was I expected to ignore the way I was feeling? There was certainly no doubt there when it came to the stiff inflammation building in my back. There was no ignoring the pressure pushing on my eyes and tightening my neck. How could…

  • black and white photo of a man dressed up like Jesus walking through a cloud of smoke
    Spirit

    Who Do I Pray To?

     Opening Prayer: Father, I ask that you open my heart. Make it soft and receptive. Fill me with wisdom and discernment for Your truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. If you do a quick internet search, you will discover that the God of the Bible is not always considered the first god in history. You may find this surprising. How can the God who created the world not be the first god of the world? Clearly, history has become twisted. But if you believe in the God of the Bible, then you must believe in the Bible. And if you believe in the Bible, isn’t it safe to assume you believe…

  • Chronic Illness,  Spirit

    By His Stripes, I Am Healed

    To say it was a Sunday like any other would be a lie. In truth, I should have realized something was different early on. Though my husband made no comment to me, he didn’t even want to go to church that morning. Even I lacked the usual energy and excitement that I usually had in going to my place of freedom. The music didn’t reach me the same. I barely sang, and I could only manage a sway while everyone danced and clapped around me. I still had no idea of what was to come. Though my body was only a few feet from the alter, my mind was elsewhere.…

  • black man with glasses placing arms on a white desk staring at an analog clock in front of him
    Spirit

    Could You Wait One Hour?

    When Jesus said He was coming back soon, more than likely His disciples and followers took that literally. They had seen Jesus. They had seen Him live and die and rise again. They had seen Him return, and they lived expecting that He could return again at any moment.  Soon. He said soon. And they made sure to live as blameless as possible because His return could be any minute. But time went on. And how impatient did the church get through time! How tired of waiting did we get! Since the time of Jesus’ departure, we’ve only grown more and more lax in our Christian walk because maybe “soon”…

  • an open gap between two stone walls
    Spirit

    Repair the Breach

    There once was a rich man, who though interestingly was never named, lived a life of absolute luxury. And at his gate every day, laid a beggar named Lazarus, who only sought for the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. While the rich man dressed in the finest attire, Lazarus was dressed in wounds and sores that were licked by dogs. These two men obviously lived completely different lives. But neither was spared from death. When the day came that both Lazarus and the rich man died, angels brought Lazarus up to Abraham’s side. The rich man however, ended up in hell. When the rich man looked up…