Dealing with Tragedy
“We seem to lurch from tragedy to tragedy, shooting to shooting, bombing to bombing. The kids didn’t deserve such a death. Their parents don’t deserve such grief. And we received…
“We seem to lurch from tragedy to tragedy, shooting to shooting, bombing to bombing. The kids didn’t deserve such a death. Their parents don’t deserve such grief. And we received…
Don’t you? Don’t you need some Peace On Earth and Goodwill to Mankind? Don’t you need some Silent Night, Holy Night? Don’t you need the appearance of angels, the sudden…
We saw the storm coming. While it was still days away, the predictions chilled our spines and jolted our complacency. “It’s a monster!” “Disaster is not only at our doorstep,…
Are you struggling with fear today? Is it the pandemic, a job, food, something else? Are you seeing the size of your worries and not the size of your Savior?…
Happiness happens when we give it away. Be the family member who offers to wash the dishes after dinner. Be the colleague who serves the staff by arriving on time…
Are you struggling with fear today? Is it the pandemic, a job, food, something else? Are you seeing the size of your worries and not the size of your Savior?…
Galatians 5:22 IT’S QUIET. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day…
“He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3 NKJV A friend organized a Christmas cookie swap for our church office staff. The plan was…
We saw the storm coming. While it was still days away, the predictions chilled our spines and jolted our complacency. “It’s a monster!” “Disaster is not only at our doorstep,…
“Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature.” Genesis 1:26 MSG Recent racially charged incidents including the tragic death of George Floyd and others have…
“Gabriel.” Just the sound of my King’s voice stirred my heart. I left my post at the entryway and stepped into the throne room. To my left was the desk…
Christmas is full of cozy thoughts: a sleeping Jesus, wide-eyed shepherds, a soft-faced Mary. The nativity sentiment is warm, the emotion is joy, and the feeling is peace. Such is…
Don’t you? Don’t you need some Peace On Earth and Goodwill to Mankind? Don’t you need some Silent Night, Holy Night? Don’t you need the appearance of angels, the…
My wife loves to drive when we travel. Why? It’s not that she loves the steering wheel, it’s just that she loves to stay on track. My mind tends to…
When did you learn those words? It’s not fair. What deed exposed you to the imbalanced scales of life? Did a car wreck leave you fatherless? Did friends forget you, a teacher…
I don’t care how tough you are. You may be a Navy Seal who specializes in high altitude skydiving behind enemy lines. You might spend each day making million-dollar, split-second…
One – A Blessing of Hope May the God of peace, the eternal One and only God, grant you an awareness of his immediate return. May you be patient, may…
“They do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 Thirty-seven years old. Thin, almost frail. Balding and bespectacled. An electronics buff. Law-abiding and tired. Certainly not a description you…
Insensitivity makes a wound that heals slowly. If someone hurts your feelings intentionally you know how to react. You know the source of the pain. But if someone accidentally bruises…
Happiness happens when we give it away. Be the family member who offers to wash the dishes after dinner. Be the colleague who serves the staff by arriving on time…
I see the face of a man who failed. . . who failed his Maker. Again. I promised I wouldn’t, but I did. I was quiet when I should have…
#1 Next time your day goes south, here is what you do: Steep yourself in the grace of God. Saturate your day in His love. Marinate your mind in His…
Spring 2020? It’s time for a deep breath, a steady resolve and a few decisions. I’m thinking of three essential, emotional tools. Gratitude. Collect your blessings. Catalog God’s kindnesses. Assemble…
Max Lucado inspires with these words about how to handle a recession with peace and joy: “Turn on the TV or open a paper and the financial news can be…
King Nebuchadnezzar had no peers. He was the uncontested ruler of the world of the 6th century B.C. Babylon, his city, rose out of the desert plains like a Manhattan skyline.…
Some years ago I passed through a time of discouragement. I can’t remember the source of the struggle, but I recall the fruit. I created a tool for divine encouragement.…
Max Lucado teaches that God never gave us leftovers. He gave us His best! “Suppose I were to drop by your house holding a foil-covered saucer. “Hello, friend,” I say.…
The Lord caused the Egyptians to think well of them, and the Egyptians gave the people everything they asked for. So the Israelites took rich gifts from them. The Israelites…
Extreme weather is now a daily news story. Storms are coming. The sun is searing hot. Fires are blazing. Snows will suddenly follow. Hurricanes and typhoons pummel our shores. We…
When Denalyn and I travel together, she wants to drive. It’s not that she loves the steering wheel, it’s just that she loves to stay on track. My mind tends…
Max Lucado calls us to life and peace in a world filled with uncertainty and violence: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Matthew 10:28…
I was thanking the Father today for his mercy. I began listing the sins he’d forgiven. One by one I thanked God for forgiving my stumbles and tumbles. My motives…
“My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.” Mark 3:35 “Give me a word picture to describe a relative in your life who really…
How many times have you doubted God’s goodness? Max Lucado teaches on how to trust God and be content: “The widest river in the world is not the Mississippi, Amazon,…
“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Matthew 10:28 All of us struggle to make sense of bloodshed and violence. Life is a dangerous endeavor.…
“Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature.” Genesis 1:26 MSG Racial violence has stirred the rawest of wounds–racism. Judging a person according to skin…
He didn’t call Himself “the reverend Holiness Angelic Divinity III.” He didn’t insist on plush, royal robes or gleaming, golden scepters. He didn’t come on the wings of a heavenly…
Mass shootings. Violence. Hate. Max Lucado writes, “We seem to lurch from tragedy to tragedy, shooting to shooting, bombing to bombing. The kids didn’t deserve such a death. Their parents…
Amanda Todd became an unwitting spokesperson for despair at the age of fifteen after a predator had convinced her to pose topless for a photo, and then posted it online.…
Does the news overwhelm you? Every day mass murders leave us reeling; struggling to make sense of such tragedies. Where the Bible may not tell us the why of the tragedies, it…
The Brazilians taught me the beauty of a blessing. Here is a scene repeated in Brazil thousands of times daily. It’s early morning. Time for young Marcos to leave for…
We learn from Paul’s bout with the stormy Mediterranean Sea that all of us occasionally face “the perfect storm.” When a sequence of catastrophic events rock our world, Paul reminds…
In 1066, one of history’s most decisive battles was fought. William, Duke of Normandy, dared to invade England. He confidently approached his formidable opponent with his secret weapon, an invention…
The fog of the broken heart. It’s a dark fog that slyly imprisons the soul and refuses easy escape. It’s a heavy cloud that honors no hour and respects no…
#1Next time your day goes south, here is what you do: Steep yourself in the grace of God. Saturate your day in His love. Marinate your mind in His mercy.…
How do you know you have a spiritual stronghold in your life? Max Lucado writes: “Does one prevailing problem stalk your life? Where does Satan have a hook in you?…
God is the God of the nations. Egypt’s pharoah, Persia’s Cyrus, Artaxerxes of Persia among others were guided by the hand of God to carry out His plan. God protects…
I can still remember the first time I saw one. I had gone to work with my dad—a big thrill for a ten-year-old whose father worked in the oil fields.…
I will bring these people to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer (Is. 56:7). In the court of King Xerxes, entering the king’s presence…
Divorce touches each of us, sooner or later. A friend, a brother, a co-worker, or perhaps, you. If you haven’t been affected by divorce, you probably will be-it’s one of…
Imagine that you are going on an extended trip. Pretend that you are departing for several months and have to leave your children behind. You plan to eventually return and…
Who are elders, and why does any church need them? Max Lucado In the first letter Paul wrote to Timothy, he speaks to a church which already has elders and…
Christmas is full of cozy thoughts: a sleeping Jesus, wide-eyed shepherds, a soft-faced Mary. The nativity sentiment is warm, the emotion is joy, and the feeling is peace. Such is…
What is God’s plan for church elders, spiritual leaders in your church? It is essential that the church be led by a plurality of godly leaders. It’s not optional. it’s…
THERE ARE SNOWSTORMS. There are hail storms. There are rainstorms. And there are doubtstorms. Every so often a doubtstorm rolls into my life, bringing with it a flurry of questions…
What characteristics should a godly leader possess? I try to avoid the word “qualifications,” for that leaves the impression that if a man doesn’t bat a thousand percent in each…
Some months ago I was late to catch a plane out of the San Antonio airport. I wasn’t terribly late, but I was late enough to be bumped and have…
The explosion of the early church demonstrates what happens when men and women surrender to Christ and boldly declare the message of salvation.
The Brazilians taught me the beauty of a blessing. Here is a scene repeated in Brazil thousands of times daily. It’s early morning. Time for young Marcos to leave for…
“When Jesus was preparing to return to his father, he commissioned his friends to go—to astronomically expand the impact of their lives. He called them to action in Acts 1:8; …
“Later, Jesus showed himself to his followers again—this time at Lake Galilee. This is how he showed himself: Some of the followers were together: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael…
In Message 19 of Max Lucado’s “Outlive Your Life” series, Pastor Lucado discusses how God allows us to move on from the mistakes of our past to find our hope…
Imagine the following situation. It’s post-Civil War America. You, your family, and ancestors have been slaves for several generations. You’ve known no other life than back-breaking cotton harvesting beneath the…
It all happened in one day. One day he could choose his tee time at the nicest golf course in the country; the next he couldn’t even be the caddie.…
The old guy at the corner hasn’t seen him. The woman selling the figs hasn’t either. Jesus described him to the scribes at the gate and the kids in the…
I wish I could introduce you to a friend of mine by the name of Diane. Diane has such earnest eyes. Such a sweet demeanor. But don’t let the softness…
As Brazilian jail cells go this one wasn’t too bad. There was a fan on the table. The twin beds each had a thin mattress and a pillow. There was…
He could have given up. No one would have known otherwise. Jesus could have given up. One look at the womb could have discouraged him. God is as unbridled…
Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do.ROMANS 14:1 MSG Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise…
The setbacks that Joseph faced assure us that God has not forgotten us, no matter how difficult our life has become. Seeing God’s hand at work in Joseph’s life gives…
I still chuckle when I think about the joke I heard about the game warden who got a quick lesson on fishing. It seems he noticed how this one particular…
What if you are confused by God’s actions? “Joseph … did what the Lord’s angel had told him to do.” Matthew 1:24 The white space between Bible verses is fertile…
What is the Christian church supposed to look like? What are some of the most common and dangerous problems facing any church and how can you correct them? …
Why do we become tight-fisted during the holidays? The whole message of God is about generosity and grace. He showed unconditional grace to the laborers in the field, regardless of…
Want to see a miracle? Try this. Take a seed the size of a freckle. Put it under several inches of dirt. Give it enough water, light, and fertilizer. And…
When Jesus was preparing to return to his father, He commissioned his friends to go—to astronomically expand the impact of their lives. He called them to action in Acts 1:8;…
When your world touches God’s world, the result is a holy moment. When God’s high hope kisses your earthly hurt, that moment is holy. That moment might happen on a…
Jesus’ disciples couldn’t comprehend why Jesus could sleep in the midst of the storm. We must remember to relinquish control, fear not and trust. Dr. Lucado lends his valuable insights at…
The summer before my eighth-grade year I made friends with a guy named Larry. He was new to town, so I encouraged him to go out for our school football…
The fog of the broken heart. It’s a dark fog that slyly imprisons the soul and refuses easy escape. It’s a heavy cloud that honors no hour and respects no…
FORGIVE ME if this chapter is disjointed. As I write, I am angry. I am angered by a cricket. He’s loud. He’s obnoxious. He’s hidden. And he’s in big trouble…
What do you do when you’re low on love? Do you try to conjure it up by the sheer force of will? As if there is within us a distillery…
When your world touches God’s world, the result is a holy moment. When God’s high hope kisses your earthly hurt, that moment is holy. That moment might happen on a…
I am the voice of the one calling out in the desert: “Make the road straight for the Lord.” John 1:23 The faces of the three men were solemn as…
Is your Christianity simply a set of beliefs that you hold, or does the love of Christ permeate every aspect of your life: your intimacy with God, your love for…
Not everyone in Jesus’ world gave him a warm welcome. Not everyone received him with grace. And many didn’t just ignore him, they rejected him. Isaiah prophesied his reception like…
Some of you love to work with jigsaw puzzles. You take a jumble of disconnected pieces and arrange them in the right order. Certain folks are so proud of their…
As followers of The Way fled persecution in Jerusalem, they carried the message of salvation with them to places previously unreached by the Gospel (Acts 8:1-4). But it was in…
For thousands of years, the relationship had been perfect. As far back as any one could remember, the moon had faithfully reflected the sun’s rays into the dark night. It…
Does God answer prayer? We should make legitimate requests offered with respect and kindness, like a child to a father, and fitting into the scope of what God wants…
A Good Dad Makes Godly Decisions The Lord made an agreement with Jacob and gave the teachings to Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children. Then…
We played every game we knew. We ran up and down the hail. We played “find me” behind the couch. We bounced the beach ball off each other’s heads. We…
Insensitivity makes a wound that heals slowly. If someone hurts your feelings intentionally you know how to react. You know the source of the pain. But if someone accidentally bruises…
“Mommy, I’m so thirsty. I want a drink.” Susanna Petroysan heard her daughter’s pleas, but there was nothing she could do. She and four-year-old Gayaney were trapped beneath tons of…
Peter and John encountered a man over 40 years old, begging outside a Temple gate. He was lame from birth and probably excluded from full access to the Temple all…
Not everyone in Jesus’ world gave him a warm welcome. Not everyone received him with grace. And many didn’t just ignore him, they rejected him. Isaiah prophesied his reception like…
What do you do when you’re low on love? Do you try to conjure it up by the sheer force of will? As if there is within us a distillery…
Not everyone in Jesus’ world gave him a warm welcome. Not everyone received him with grace. And many didn’t just ignore him, they rejected him. Isaiah prophesied his reception like…
We live in a tired society, a weary generation. Will you choose to go back to the slavery of Egypt like the faithless Israelites? God had delivered them. Will you…
“How was the night?” asked the nurse. The young man’s weary eyes answered the question before his lips could. It had been long and hard. Vigils always are. But even…
When Paul said his last good-byes to the churches he had planted on the three missionary journeys, he considered his work finished in that part of the world (Rom. 15:23).…
Anger singes countless pages of Scripture. Anger and rage can burn a fire in your heart, sap your strength, and wound you emotionally. It all began with the first family.…
The hallway is silent except for the wheels of the mop bucket and the shuffle of the old man’s feet. Both sound tired. Both know these floors. How many…
Childhood nights: shadows on the wall, boogey-men in the closet, and scary things going bump. Conquering the boogey-man was pretty easy back then—all it took was a plaintive “Mommee” or…
“Gabriel.” Just the sound of my King’s voice stirred my heart. I left my post at the entryway and stepped into the throne room. To my left was the desk…
She has every reason to be bitter. Though talented, she went unrecognized for years. Prestigious opera circles closed their ranks when she tried to enter. American critics ignored her compelling…
You have to blame it on Copernicus. The world was rocking along pretty well until he came along in 1543 and announced that the sun, and not the earth was…
While it’s true that we all make mistakes, some mistakes are more public than others. How do you handle those mistakes that everyone knows about? Come close and listen: the…
“Lord…let me know how fleeting my life is.” Psalm 39:4 Abraham Lincoln once listened to the pleas of the mother of a soldier who’d been sentenced to hang for treason.…
What do you do when you’re low on love? Do you try to conjure it up by the sheer force of will? As if there is within us a distillery…
Paul describes his own religious credentials in Acts 22, and Philippians 3. However, when we read the story of his conversion, we know him only as a leader in a…
The world is waiting for the witness and presence of God. Billions of people live below the poverty line, millions of children go hungry around the globe, and preventable disease…
“My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.” Mark 3:35 “GIVE ME a word picture to describe a relative in your life who really…
“How was the night?” asked the nurse. The young man’s weary eyes answered the question before his lips could. It had been long and hard. Vigils always are. But even…
When Jesus went in the boat back to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him there. A leader of the synagogue, named Jairus, came there,…
I didn’t like the preacher I sat by on the plane. I know, I know. You’re supposed to like everyone, but this fellow… To begin with, he took the seat…
There dwells inside you, deep within, a tiny whippoorwill. Listen. You will hear him sing. His aria mourns the dusk. His solo signals the dawn. It is the song of…
Abraham Lincoln once listened to the pleas of the mother of a soldier who’d been sentenced to hang for treason. She begged the President to grant a pardon. Lincoln agreed.…
He was a professional thief. His name stirred fear as the desert wind stirs tumbleweeds. He terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for thirteen years, roaring like a tornado in…
I STAND six steps from the bed’s edge. My arms extended. Hands open. On the bed Sara—all four years of her— crouches, posed like a playful kitten. She’s going to…
Behold a hero of the west: the cowboy. He rears his horse to a stop on the rim of the canyon. He shifts his weight in his saddle, weary from…
Jesus once told a parable about a king who decides to settle his accounts with his debtors. His bookkeeper surfaces a fellow who owes not thousands or hundreds of thousands…
There dwells inside you, deep within, a tiny whippoorwill. Listen. You will hear him sing. His aria mourns the dusk. His solo signals the dawn. It is the song of…
One of my favorite childhood memories is greeting my father as he came home from work. My mother, who worked an evening shift at the hospital, would leave the house…
Have you had a view of the high country? While in Colorado for a week’s vacation, our family teamed up with several others and decided to ascend the summit of a…
I came across a sad story this week, a story about a honeymoon disaster. The newly weds arrived at the hotel in the wee hours with high hopes. They’d reserved…
“The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry and felt rejected” (Gen. 4:4-5 emphasis mine). Interesting. This…
Rebecca Thompson fell twice from the Fremont Canyon Bridge. She died both times. The first fall broke her heart; the second broke her neck. She was only eighteen years of…
“There’s something wrong with this picture.” Remember those handouts in elementary school? The teacher would pass out drawings with the question at the bottom, “What’s wrong with this picture?” We’d…
He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them all the way to the end. (Jn. 13:1) Give thanks to the Lord because…
YOU HAVE one. A sack. A burlap sack. Probably aren’t aware of it, may not have been told about it. Could be you don’t remember it. But it was given…
The kingdom of heaven. Its citizens are drunk on wonder. Consider the case of Sarai. She is in her golden years, but God promises her a son. She gets excited.…
“They do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 Thirty-seven years old. Thin, almost frail. Balding and bespectacled. An electronics buff. Law-abiding and tired. Certainly not a description you…
Jesus was not always welcomed warmly by earth-travelers. Some saw Him as a threat. Some saw Him as a heretic. Most saw Him as an enigma. Not everyone in Jesus’…
“Jesus was…sleeping.” (Mark 4:38). Now there’s a scene. Jesus was sleeping in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee. The disciples scream, Jesus dreams. Thunder roars, Jesus…