“N-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!” Chris screamed as he scooted to the back of the bathtub. Lynne was giving our two-year-old son a bath, and she had pulled the stopper on the drain. Memory fails me, but there was something floating on the water that was caught in the vortex of draining water. It swirled around a couple of…
What does the Bible say about courage? “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 31:24, ESV) There is a reason behind God’s command to be courageous. Nearly every time God says “fear not,” He provides a reason to have courage, and that reason is God Himself. God calms…
What does the Bible say about cowardice or being a coward? At first glance, it would seem the Bible has very little to say about cowardice. Some translations do not even contain the word, while in others it occurs only once in the book of Revelation: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as…
Letter 4 Themes: The subtle attacks against prayer life; the implications of not seeing God directly in prayer. Letter 5 Themes: Fear, anguish, despair; war, suffering; contented worldliness; growth through suffering; faith. Letter 6 Themes: Fear, anxiety worry, suspense about the future; faith trust; prayer; revenge, anger; apathy.
Letter 7 Themes: Materialism (evolutionary thinking), skepticism, belief in demons; factions and cliques; spiritual distraction through social causes, movements, or policies. Letter 8 Themes: Ups and downs of spiritual life; growing during the dry times; the walk of faith and obedience. Letter 9 Themes: Spiritually dry times; sensual temptations during these times; the enticements and…
Faith is a habit. Have you heard that before? Often we think of faith as something we have or don’t have in the sense of being either a Christian or a non-Christian. But Lewis says we “must train the habit of Faith,” in the reading for September 18 in A Year with C.S. Lewis. His point…
The reason David knew God so well was because he was constantly under attack either by God’s people or God’s enemies. You see, David actually needed God. David’s life was one storm/battle after the other. If he wasn’t dealing with external enemies he was dealing with his internal demons. David had a target on his…
“I have no clue what that means,” I thought to myself! I was in our weekly Sermon Club where all of our church staff listens to the theme of an upcoming message and collectively provides their input and perspective on the proposed message. One of our Elders, “Bear” (that is such a cool nickname), was…
The following is an excerpt from the epilogue of the book, A Time to Kill, a Time to Heal by Roger Helle. The title reflects the words from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. * * * I was in the operating room. Internal bleeding had caused the doctor to rush me to surgery at the Ninety-fifth Evacuation Hospital…
The following is an excerpt from the book, A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal by Roger Helle. The book includes stories about the effort of Vietnam military veterans who help the people of Vietnam after the war, and the efforts to support the underground church in a country that attempts to stop the…
