Romans 15:4 “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” You’re probably familiar with the saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Continue Reading…
Jeremiah 16:13-15 “So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor. However, the days are coming…[when] I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors.” Continue Reading…
Psalm 13: How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? Who knew perseverance was such a virtue? One we would be in so much need of. The difficulties of 2020 have caused us to step up our capacity for enduring. But how Continue Reading…
Psalm 137:1 “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.” Educational facilities from my grandsons’ daycare to the college where I teach are taking a hit from the coronavirus quarantine. Online learning helps fulfill requirements, but hopes of graduations, internships and athletic events lay in the Continue Reading…
Luke 15:24 “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Sometimes looking at the past gives us hope for the future. Reading my Grandpa Creech’s diary from 1958 is strengthening my faith. The pages reflect Grandpa’s concern for my parents. Their Continue Reading…
Psalm 31:24 “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” How’s your hope tank these days? A little depleted? I think the coronavirus has left us all feeling more vulnerable and less secure than we were when life was normal. When was that? Decades ago? The Continue Reading…
Judges 1:20-21 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty….” Ever feel like circumstances you face are irreversible? Think there’s no way the breakthrough you long for is going to happen? You realize Continue Reading…
Psalm 124:1-3 “if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive….” Do you know the right man is on your side? Sometimes I think all of life is purposed to teach us that one unassailable truth. Maybe you’re encountering new territory. Until now, Continue Reading…
Psalm 71:14 “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.” The culture tries to paint a picture of hope. But I’m afraid it often seems more like hype. How many times we’ve been at a Penn State football game, we’re behind, and the Continue Reading…
1 Thessalonians 3:2-3 “We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials.” The waiting time—that interminable period between crying out to God and receiving an answer—poses one Continue Reading…