Confession!  It’s a word that conjures up many images—some not so positive. Confession isn’t telling God what he doesn’t know.  That’s impossible.  It’s not pointing fingers at others without pointing any at me.  That may feel good, but it doesn’t promote healing. Confession is a radical reliance on grace—a trust in God’s goodness.  The truth is, confessors find a freedom that deniers don’t! Scripture says, “If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust ..read more

”If we (freely) admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins (dismiss our lawlessness) and (continuously) cleanse us from all unrighteousness (everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action)” 1 John 1:9 (Amplified). Cleaning the oven is not my favorite thing to do. In fact, it slides down to bottom of my “to do” list several times before I actually make it a priority. I know I am not the only person who feels this way. The owner of the house we moved into obviously disliked cle ..read more

“How long, O Lord?  Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul,  Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?  Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,   And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.  But I have trusted in Your loving kindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord,   Because He has dealt bountifull ..read more

“God’s laws are perfect. They protect us, make us wise, and give us joy and light” (Psalm 19:7,8) Professor William Lyon Phelps, one of Yale University’s most famous scholars, said, “A knowledge of the Bible without a college education is more valuable than a college education without the Bible.” Why would he say this? Our verse gives us the answer. The Word of God (1) protects us, (2) makes us wise, (3) gives us joy, and (4) gives us light. There are many other benefits that come from reading the Word of God. With dividends like these, we are indeed robbing ourselves of untold blessings when ..read more

“..for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” Luke 15:24 Lisa was dating a man who didn’t believe in Christ as she did. Instead of breaking off the relationship, she gradually pulled away from God. Within two years, the man broke up with Lisa. She was tempted to believe that life was no longer worth living. “But,” Lisa admitted, “if anyone understands, it’s God.” So she returned to church. She prayed and cried through most of the service. An old friend listened as Lisa unfolded the past two years. The friend responded with the stor ..read more

“Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 This was the first time in years that I would not be buying school supplies! I should have done cartwheels! Instead my thoughts were mixed. My year had been filled with change. New schedules and routines, a graduation, a wedding, a funeral, changes in friendships …. They say change is the only constant in life. Some changes we like, others burden us down. Here are some principles I’ve learned in seasons of change. 1. Maximize the pros and minimize the cons. Every change has pos ..read more

Recently I was on a cross Canada cycling trip with three friends. This was a major undertaking of 54 days and over 7800 km.  We had many days of excellent weather. My mental picture was cycling in the sunshine coast to coast. Maybe it was a little unrealistic. The day came that I was dreading… We woke up to pouring rain. It was cold, windy and raining. I did not want to leave the warm, dry RV to get on the bike with the prospect that it could rain all day. My fellow cyclist said in unison, “Come on embrace the rain!” I really did not want to embrace the rain, but what could I do? It was ..read more

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” Revelation 4:8b Recently I heard someone complain about the over-use of the word “awesome”. “Let’s go out to McDonald’s for lunch” a friend poses. “Awesome!” someone responds. “Did you watch The Big Bang Theory?” a friend asks. “Yes, it was awesome.” “How do you like your 2002 Chevy Impala?” “Love it! It’s awesome.” By definition, awesome means “causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear.” Perhaps the prospect of a fast food snack, a situation comedy, or an old ca ..read more

“By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.” Hebrews 11:9 Do you ever stop to think about your sin? Maybe you feel overwhelmed, tired of the daily struggle against sin. Perhaps you wonder why God continues to guide you, to love you, to keep you in the faith. If anyone had reason to wonder that, it would have been Jacob. Jacob wasn’t the most righteous man on earth. He definitely wasn’t mentioned as righteous like Job was. He wasn’t taken up to heaven like Enoch. Jacob deceived his father to ..read more

“We call Abraham “father” not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody.” Romans 4:17 (MSG) Abraham was an ordinary guy. There was nothing spectacular about him. He had no hidden talents, no supernatural faith, no outstanding ideas, and no blazing personality. He was a nobody. But God took that ordinary man and turned him into a somebody. I’m an ordinary girl. But I believe in a God who raises the dead to life and who makes something out of nothing. He did that for me. When I met Jesus and turned my life over to ..read more