Sometimes – nay, often – man has absolutely no idea of what God is doing. And I’m beginning to understand that the tension brought upon our faith by our ignorance of God’s plan is, in some cases, the best place for us to be as we seek to know him better.
I was able to attend part of a men’s conference last weekend in central Louisiana. Though I didn’t get to stay for the entire event, I was reminded of God’s sovereignty and care in that short span of time, and I left a little more in love with Jesus than when I arrived.
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Photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash
What do you do when you realize that your love for God is sub-par at best? How do you respond when you feel like you’ve forgotten how to pray? What steps do you take when you recognize a deficiency in your walk with the Lord, but you don’t know how to fix the problem?
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Here’s the setting: You’re sitting in a restaurant with your friends enjoying dinner. This is one of those restaurants that offers complimentary ice cream cones after every meal, and the ice cream machine has been getting a steady stream of traffic since you sat down. As you watch, kids all across the building scarf down their food with enthusiasm before turning (with mouths still full of their last bites) to their parents to get permission to go get ice cream. The kids can hardly stay in their chairs, hopping down and running to the ice cream machine as soon as they get the go ahead. You watch as little boys and girls figure out just how high they can get their soft serve to go on their little cones, and you laugh as the once clean faces are now being painted with vanilla. But then you notice one little boy crying.
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“Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
Hosea 6:1-3
Dreams came true at Comic Con. I watched as fans were literally so star struck before their favorite actress that they couldn’t form coherent sentences. I saw multitudes stand in line to take pictures with big name actors after paying quite a sum of money for the privilege. I got my picture taken with a Dalek (for free) and was able to try on some Wolverine claws after attending a Doctor Who “Q&A” session featuring a celebrity guest. And, to top it all off, General Mills was giving away boxes of Batman and Superman breakfast cereals. Day seized.
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I probably like a good journal and pen a bit too much. I get excited about stationery and fine paper. And when my friends want to walk around a massive mall and take in the sights, my first stop is the store with the really expensive writing utensils. Call me crazy, but there’s something about the feel of a good pen on fine paper that stirs my affections for the Lord.
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In the book of Daniel, we read of a handful of God-fearing men who were taken from their homeland and were brought to Babylon to be trained for service to the king. Because of their devotion to the Lord, these men stood out from their peers in wisdom and understanding (Daniel 1:17-21), earning them high places before the king. The stories of how God used these men are extraordinary, so it’s no surprise that many of us learned these stories in Sunday School classes and Vacation Bible Schools growing up. Yet these stories are not just for children.
I love Christmas. I love the chilly weather outside, the lights strung throughout the trees in the park, and the sounds of Christmas music everywhere. I love the warm feeling that accompanies giving gifts to loved ones, and I even love facing the crowds to get those last minute gifts. Christmas, for these reasons and more, is arguably my favorite time of the year. Continue reading
I’m not very good at connecting the dots. If I’m watching a movie with some friends, I’m usually the one who will be surprised at the plot twist that everyone else saw coming. So it shouldn’t surprise me that I missed the point of the Christmas story for the longest time.
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as i learn to walk 