Rhythm of Faith

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 From the very beginning of time God said that it was not good for people to be alone. (Gen 2:18). This refers to all people.  It is not good to be alone. We were created for companionship, for friendship. We exist to have fellowship with God and others. And now that this world is a dark place filled with hardship, disappointment, and sin those who have friends to walk with them have something that is more valuable than money. But here is the trick. Not all friendships are beneficial. There are some people who will drag us down, bring out the worst in us, and tempt us to sin.  (1 Cor. 15:33) We need to surround ourselves with people who will make us better Christians, encourage us in our marriages, cheer us on in our parenting, and will speak the truth when we are wrong. Who will love us through it all. “He who walks with wise men shall be wise; but a companion of fools shall be destroyed” (Pro 13:20). We wil...

The story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 tells much more about Cain than Abel. In fact, not one word is recorded from living Abel. But the author of Hebrews says that, “through [Abel’s] faith, though he died, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). So what is dead Abel speaking to us? It was dusk. Cain was working late. Not wanting to face his parents, he was trying to disguise his guilt-infused fear with a preoccupation with his crops. Then suddenly the unmistakable voice of the Lᴏʀᴅ sent a shock through his core: “Where is Abel, your brother?” Cain had grown to loathe Abel. It had been building for years. No matter what, Abel always seemed to turn a situation to his advantage. Was there a conflict? Abel the Humble loved to be the first to reconcile. Did anyone need help? Abel the Servant loved to be the first to offer it. Was there an injury? Abel the Compassionate loved to be the first to comfort. Even when Cain showed greater endurance and ingenuity in his work, Abel could rob him of any s...

But they who wait for the Lᴏʀᴅ shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint . (Isaiah 40:31) It’s not exactly what we’d think, or could ever imagine. There’s nothing else like it. A God who is so mighty that he doesn’t need anything. A God who displays his glory not by our working for him, but his working for us. Waiting for the Lᴏʀᴅ means he will give you strength. One of the most amazing truths that I ever discovered — and I was about 22 years old when I discovered it — was that God’s greatness is displayed not in his gathering slaves around him to work for him, to show that he has enough authority to get workers, but rather his greatness is shown in making him —   himself   — available to work for others. Look in Isaiah 40:28, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lᴏʀᴅ is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary.” There is the co...

“Mom, you are making me feel dumb” my son said quietly. I drew in a quick breath and exhaled. My heart was pierced by his words. I looked over at my son. He stood there staring at me, the hurt stretched across his young face. I had just repeated an instruction to him for the third time because the first two times he didn’t seem to understand. Yet I didn’t simply restate the instruction, my tone was condescending and belittling. “I’m sorry I spoke to you that way. You are not dumb. Will you forgive me?” I responded, hugging him close. My son is eight and our conversation was deeply convicting. It was the first time he had ever voiced to me how my speech makes him feel. I wondered how often during his young life my words and tone have belittled him. It wasn’t that long ago that I realized how much I sigh audibly when I am annoyed by something my children do. No doubt, God is at work in me, using my role as a mother to show me my sin. Why Words Matter We all have memories embedded deep in...

Text: 1 John 4:1-6 Antichrist. What a powerful word. For me, it conjures up some pretty intense images. While I don’t focus on the Antichrist much in my day to day thinking (as that isn’t in line with Philippians 4:8), it is part of our story. As we read today’s passage, take note of this verse: “…but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”  (1 John 4:3) What does this mean to us?  It means that the core part of the Antichrist is already on earth. It’s in our media. It’s in the people who know about Christ and deny Him. It’s part of when we’re encouraged to blame our sin on our genetic makeup instead of taking responsibility for it. It’s in the false prophets. The Antichrist’s spirit of destruction and trickery is everywhere (Romans 8:9). This leaves me wondering how anyone who doesn’t have a firm grasp of their faith yet can become aware of this ar...

Isaiah: 66:13 “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” While I was reading and meditating on this passage, I was little surprised by this verse. We generally view God as our Father, and rightly so. So when we think about God, it might be a little hard for us to think of Him as a mother. John 4:24 says that God is the Spirit and those who worship him, must worship in truth and spirit. Thus this is not a matter of – he or she. But God uses this visual of a mother, or father for us. In other verses of the Bible, God uses different human relationships and calls us His friend, brother, or children. This is so that we know him and understand Him. In this way we also relate to Him as our personal God and enjoy intimate relation with Him. With this verse I am reminded of the role of our mother. She bears us in the womb for nine  months, nurses us, teaches us to take our first step, rocks us to sleep, helps us to talk – She raises us. Today, who we are, or who we have become ...

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. Psalm 63:3-5 We talk a lot about how much we love Jesus–how he is everything to us. Do we really mean it? Could we say that Jesus is enough, that we are completely satisfied with Him, if we lost family, friends, finances, and material possessions? I’m not sure I could say that. My heart has become too tied to this world and everything in it. I don’t fully understand how Christ can be my everything. But whether I know it or not, he is my everything and that is what I have to embrace. He tells us that everything he has is ours. Not only are we to inherit a wonderful kingdom and eternity of joy, but even now we can say, “The Lord is my portion.” And since we have him, we have everything that matters. Octavius Winslow wrote a great piece on all the w...

 “There are times when I feel life coming at me in unwarranted and inexplicable ways, offering crises where my best-laid plans had promised only peace. As a Christian, I often try to make sense of those times, searching for God’s purpose among the fallout of my shattered plans, struggling to understand how God will use this one day. As part of my never-ending quest to find those answers, I take Bible courses to help me better understand the nature of my Creator, and His interest in my life. But sometimes the more I learn about Him, the farther away He seems, and the smaller and less significant I feel. However, in a recent lesson about the dimensions in which God lives, as opposed to the dimensions I live in (width, height, depth), I began to understand that God isn’t bound by those dimensions or by time or by gravity. He lives in many more dimensions—some which my mind can’t even comprehend. He can go through walls and fly across the universe; he can hear everyone’s thoughts at on...