Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” —Mark 4:38 (NLT)There are these things that overwhelm us in life. Overwhelm: to engulf, to crush, to devastate. These things are huge, ... Continue reading
The Martian and lifegiving hope
February 8, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Imagine you're an astronaut, part of a team sent to explore Mars. Then imagine what you would do if by a weird and terrible set of circumstances, your team abandoned you and left you alone on the red planet.That's the premise of Andy Weir's engaging science fiction novel, The Martian, which has ... Continue reading
Training for endurance
October 25, 2021 By Leave a Comment
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing ... Continue reading
Winter and the presence of God
December 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A gray ooze has devoured the horizon and wrapped the sky in a damp, claustrophobic dreariness. The sun has been swallowed up; beneath a tinplate damp life shivers, slapping arms and stamping feet to stay warm. A monochromatic twilight robs the desert of its color, while an icy wind rips the last few ... Continue reading
Delight
August 4, 2006 By 1 Comment
In conclusion, my children, take delight in your heavenly Father. —Philippians 3:1, paraphrase (the Apostle Paul writing) I once had a girlfriend who loved to go to the park and swing on the swings. As a sophisticated young college student, I always felt a little foolish doing this.But young ... Continue reading
Finding respite
February 21, 2005 By Leave a Comment
[W]hatever else the computer age has given us—and it is often compelling, powerful and productive—it is not pleasant. It is unprecedentedly fast, even frantic; it is relentless. The price of digitilization's information and fun is frustration; it always needs to be rebooted or relearned. ... Continue reading
When vineyards die
August 18, 2004 By
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my ... Continue reading
Disappointment with God
February 29, 2004 By Leave a Comment
According to Philip Yancey, there are three questions that Christians are afraid to ask, because they take us down a dark pathway into a gloomy forest of doubt, and once there, we wonder if we will ever manage to find our way out again alive.Is God unfair? Is God silent? Is God hidden? Such ... Continue reading
