God Always Has A Purpose In Redirection
“And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord […]
When Good Things Compete with God’s Best
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Colossians 3:23) I started a yard project not long ago. I hired someone to clear out some overgrown trees and brush so I could open up more usable ground. It seemed simple enough, but within days, I noticed something. My […]
Decluttering for Eternity: Letting Go of What Doesn’t Glorify God
A few weeks ago, my cousin, Peter Kovach, spoke at church and shared the idea of a “spiritual yard sale.” It was an excellent thought, and God prompted me to really meditate on what that meant to declutter my own life. You see, every so often, I go through my house and hold a yard […]
Who Really Owns You? Learning to Break Free.
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote about the tragic human condition of the slavery to sin. None of us chose our first owner. Sin claimed every one of us from birth before we ever had a say in […]
What a College Heartbreak Taught Me About God’s Relentless Love
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Have you ever poured yourself into a relationship where you felt used, unappreciated, and invisible? I certainly have. But that painful experience taught me one of the most important lessons of my life about […]
The Locust Years
I stood at the starting line packing wind pants and cold-weather gear, because that’s what March in the mountains is supposed to look like. Instead, I got a three-day heat wave. My plan had been to run the full 110 miles. I’d trained for months, prayed over it, circled the date on my calendar. But […]
What Does the Bible Mean By Predestination and Election?
On July 6th, we looked at predestination or why God’s nature makes it impossible for Him to have arbitrarily preassigned souls to heaven or hell before they ever drew breath. You might ask, “Why do I need to know these deeper doctrinal issues?” Well, God’s Word instructs us to study so we can give an […]
What Booker T. Washington Still Teaches Us About Freedom
Booker T. Washington entered this world with no recorded birthday and no recorded father. He was born on a Virginia plantation before the Civil War, a slave from his very first breath, with no paper trail proving he existed and no name given to him that anyone bothered to write down. By every measure the […]
Giving Generous Grace: Where Should We Draw the Line?
God has been teaching me that I don’t get to pick and choose who deserves grace. Of course, I want lots of grace for myself—desperately. But when it comes to someone else’s failure, I often catch myself keeping score instead of extending mercy. That double standard doesn’t come from my born again soul or my […]
When No One Seems To Notice Your Hustle
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts […]