He climbed the mountain of Nebo beside the plains of Moab. His tired feet and aging body, straining at each step. I imagine the proximity of the Promised Land was the fuel that propelled him to move forward to the top of the mountain after 40 years of wandering and waiting. “Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.” Continue Reading
Making Silver: the Heat of our Trials {The Atlanta Journal-Constitution}
The accurate date is unknown, but scholars believe that Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, wrote his book at approximately 430 B.C. Along with Haggai and Zechariah, Malachi is one of the postexilic prophets to the kingdom of Judah (Israel's southern kingdom after the country split circa 930 B.C.). At around 538 B.C., the Jews started returning from Babylon after 70 years of captivity. As God's chosen people returned from exile, it was clear that the insidious, pagan practices of Continue Reading
What If My Best Isn’t Enough? {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
More than a writer, I’m a thinker. My brain is constantly active- digging, absorbing, sorting, putting together, observing, etc. Etc. As a thinker, I like details. I like to organize them all and fit them together to create a big, powerful picture. I love making points that lead up to a concept that sticks. And I suppose, as a writer, that’s a good thing. But sometimes, my best writing is my simplest. Sometimes, my best…anything…is simple. My best worship is often a single lyric Continue Reading
What You’ll Find in a Stronghold {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
A refuge, by itself, is a place that offers sanctuary and safety. It is a figurative expression in Scripture describing God as our security. He offers us a place that we can retreat to for peace, quiet, and renewal. God also says He is our stronghold. “THE LORD IS GOOD, A STRONGHOLD IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE, AND HE KNOWS THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM.” –NAHUM 1:7 A stronghold is a type of refuge, and it's designed for times of war. When we retreat to our stronghold, we go to this one true Continue Reading
God Erases Our Regrets {Recharge Wednesday Linkup}
I’m a know-needer. It’s not that I think I know it all, but that I want to know it all. The “what-ifs” of life are maddening to me. When they come up, I tend to identify every possibility and follow it to its end. At least that way I feel that I’ll know what to do with whichever option comes true. And at least then I won’t have to live with regrets…right? No matter how much we try to know, we don’t know it all. There are always opportunities we can’t see. The Lord is always at work on Continue Reading
The Nuts and Bolts of Faith {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
You remember the monumental moments of your faith. When you take the first step of faith and your foundation is laid in Christ, it's memorable. Days, months, even years later when crucial decisions arise and you find that you indeed want to live with Him as your cornerstone, it’s big. There are moments of obvious growth and transformation as piece by piece you’re built, a temple to glorify God. The moment when you gave up on a certain sin and it stuck. That time when the Lord provided Continue Reading
