“‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all you heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning’.” (Joel 2:12) I’ve written about fasting before, but I’d never given it a try until a couple of years ago. The experience taught me that fasting requires as much discipline and devotion as reading your Bible on a daily basis. In other words, some things are easier said than done. To most 21st Century Christians, fasting seems strange because for the last 150 years it’s been popularly viewed as a […]

“But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.” (Romans 7:23) Do you ever have those times when you can’t believe what you just said, or worse yet, what you just did? Sure you have. We all know there’s no such thing as a perfect Christian, but I hate those looks I get from other believers when they realize I’m not […]

“Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:28) I am a product of a blended family. In other words, as a child I lived under the same roof with a parent and a stepparent, both of whom were rearing children of their own. I am now the head of a blended family. And while my whole perspective about it has changed, one thing hasn’t: Harmony in a blended family is a difficult to sustain. I am ashamed to admit […]

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” (Psalms 37:74) We live in a world that teaches us that we are at the center of whatever success or failure we experience. You know the old saying, “There’s noting you can’t accomplish, if you put your mind to it.” That all sounds real good, but it’s not true. Actually, it’s a form of humanism and we are peppered with it every day. So it’s no wonder we often face problems in our own lives with the notion […]