Refreshing Faith
“Why did this happen?” My nine-year-old son’s question echoed my thoughts as he snuggled next to me in our oversized arm chair.
His teacher had crushed his world that day. I later learned many students struggled under the new teacher. But my son was the first casualty—at least that I knew about.
I held Brant and silently asked God for help. His gentle whisper resonated. “I’m for Brant.”Continue Reading
Remember Charles Shultz’s Peanut Cartoon? With Lucy’s record of yanking away the football at the last minute, should Charlie Brown trust her to hold it in place for him to kick? Here’s a more pertinent question. Should we trust again after being betrayed?Continue Reading
My romantic view of a stable vanished when I visited a camel and watched him project bodily filth in the direction of onlookers. My childhood notion that the first Christmas was all joy for the main characters evaporated too. Mary and Joseph experienced a bevy of challenges including fear, betrayal, and misunderstanding. In other words, the first Christmas included real people with real problems—people like us. That makes Joseph’s faith all the more inspiring.Continue Reading
Unsafe people live, work, and worship among us. They insert themselves as experts on social media. They may appear friendly and helpful. But a dark streak lurks beneath their scrubbed exterior. How do we recognize unsafe people?
Laban, whose name means white, was a dark cloud in Jacob’s life. Laban betrayed his own daughter as well as Jacob by switching brides on Jacob’s wedding night. He cheated Jacob, changing his wages ten times. His story helps us identify the unsafe people in our lives. Let’s take a closer look at Jacob’s father-in-law and employer for twenty years.Continue Reading