Live a life of integrity‘The integrity of the upright will guide them.’ Proverbs 11:3 NKJVAfter leading the Nation of Israel for forty years, the prophet Samuel didn’t get a retirement party and a gold watch. He got something much better in the form of this commendation: ‘You have not cheated or oppressed us’ (1 Samuel 12:4 NIV). He led them, instructed them, and blessed them, but not one time did...  Read More

God accepts you ‘in Christ’, so accept yourself‘God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good...and He approved it completely.’ Genesis 1:31 AMPCYou can’t deal with anything effectively until you first accept it for what it is – including yourself! Dictionary definitions for ‘accept’ include: 1) to receive willingly; 2) to view as right; 3) to agree with. First, acceptance invo...  Read More

The need for repentance‘Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted.’ 2 Corinthians 7:10 NKJVThere’s a difference between confessing your sin and repenting of it. In Scripture, the word ‘repentance’ means ‘to turn away from sin’. By confessing your sin you acknowledge what you have done; by repenting, you turn away from it. And the good news is that there’s no limit ...  Read More

Breaking habits‘The weapons we fight with...have divine power to demolish strongholds.’ 2 Corinthians 10:4 NIVWe all struggle with habits – what’s yours? Be honest! For many of us, it’s our attitude that keeps us from growing, excelling, and soaring to the heights God planned for us (see Psalm 139:23-24). Bad habits are ways of thinking and acting that become part of our everyday lives; ways of tr...  Read More

Zechariah 3:1-7Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.  The Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.  He spoke and said to tho...  Read More

ou can’t always trust your feelings‘The human heart is the most deceitful of all things.’ Jeremiah 17:9 NLTWe all know well-intentioned people, who, when you ask them to do something, you’re not sure they will follow through. As nice as they are, they’re unreliable. Your feelings are like that; much of the time you can’t count on them because they’re not attuned to what’s best for you. They’re mor...  Read More

You’re a work in progress!‘Until we all...become mature.’ Ephesians 4:13 NIVBirth and growth are different processes, both naturally and spiritually. There’s a big difference between being saved and being whole. One happens instantly, the other is the work of a lifetime. When God saves you, your spirit is immediately changed but your emotions, your appetites, and your attitudes still need working ...  Read More

Cut the cord‘On the day you were born your cord was not cut.’ Ezekiel 16:4 NIVAre you still tied to the things of your past? Are you still being fed emotionally by relationships that need to be severed? You’ll only cut the cord when you realize that you can get what you need from a better source. Paul speaks of ‘his power that is at work within us’ (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). What is that power? It’s th...  Read More

Where Is Our Hope?A powerful practice to help move forward in our pain is to let our mess become our message. From the first days following Ben’s death, I prayed that God would use my pain for good. Something in me knew that the only pain I could survive would be the kind that helped others survive their own.My purpose is to bring hope to all of us who live in a world filled with lemons on Friday....  Read More

Zechariah 2:1-5Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.  So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is."  And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, and said to him, "Run, speak to that young man, saying, ...  Read More

Who Am I Now?We all have the human tendency to ask questions like “How long will my heart feel broken?” or “When will I be done grieving?” and “Who am I now?” We hate waiting. We long to get to a place of healing when we are hurting. And often along the way, we struggle to understand who we are in light of the changes we have grieved.Grief is messy, and healing is in no way instant. Time is crucia...  Read More

Where Is God?When fundamental parts of our lives are lost, when people and things we thought we’d never lose are suddenly gone, it’s natural to want answers. Why did this happen? Who’s to blame? What could I have done differently? And for many of us in the aftermath of traumatic change, we also want to know, Where is God? Wherever we are in our faith—secure, skeptical, or somewhere in between—suff...  Read More