Jesus Christ, God’s perfect Son, is the Beloved of the Father, the Song of the angels, the Logic of creation, the great Mystery of godliness, the bottomless Spring of life, comfort and joy. We were made to find our satisfaction, our heart’s rest, in him. Quite simply, this book will be about enjoying him, reveling in his all-sufficiency for us, and considering all that he is: how he reveals such an unexpectedly kind God, how he makes, defines—how he is—the good news, and how he not only gives shape to but is himself the shape of the Christian life.

Self-empowered effort is: I am working for God’s favor. I am trying to change to earn God’s love.

Grace empowered effort is: I am working with God’s favor and with God’s help. Because of Jesus I am fully accepted by God. The Father is unchangeably for me because of Jesus.

I’d be lying if I said I’m completely healed. My body is still broken, I’m currently amid more health issues. My heart is still grieved, I cry a lot over those two babies I lost. But God has shown me many things during these trials. He has grown me immeasurably. He IS sovereign over my life. He IS Lord over our family. He is the HEALER of my body. He does see me. He has shown me that I cannot rely on my own strength. God and God alone sustains me. Only He can restore the brightness in my eyes.

A heavy “A-frame” medal ladder at full extension blew over and struck me across the top of my head just as I bent over to move a child sandbox. For thirty minutes I had been walking the yard with a fertilizer spreader. The blow was serious: 14 staples and three months of headache, sleepiness, lethargy, inability to concentrate and sensitivity to light/loud noises.

A brief overview and introduction to the book of Philippians

A friend recently asked me if I thought that the coronavirus would cause division within the church. I’ve thought quite a bit about her question since then. The short answer, is yes, I think the coronavirus has the potential to cause division within the church for many obvious reasons. I mean, we’re people. So if you ask ten people what their opinion is about the coronavirus and all that goes with it (social distancing, conspiracy theory, wearing masks, the like) then you will get ten different answers. Multiply that by a congregation of 200+ people and the opinions multiple like rabbits. And in all seriousness, God bless the pastors that are trying to shepherd us stinky sheep through all this.

What is this “certain way” that we are called to suffer? Above all it is, as we mentioned earlier, suffering in Christ. It does no good to try and bear our suffering ourselves; we must cling to Christ. That sounds easy enough when you are not suffering. But it is not so easy when you are actually suffering. How can I respond to God when he appears to be abusing me?