Through the years of church history, many beliefs about the Holy Spirit have been filtered through denominations. Some believers focus only on the Spirit, believing in a second baptism and the speaking in tongues gift as necessary for everyone. Other denominations avoid teaching about the Spirit and instead — label this vital person of the […]
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“The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit — who can bear?” (Proverbs 18:14 TNIV). It only takes a few moments watching the news to understand why sadness is all around us. Wars, earthquakes, fires, shootings, missiles killing children, disease, death everywhere. Even for the eternal optimist, life can be heavy and
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During the Romantic period of music composition and performance, the sustain (damper) pedal on the piano was used for special effects. Many composers, such as Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt regarded the sustain pedal as an essential element in their compositions. Today, the sustain pedal (on the far right) is used most often and taught first
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For the next few weeks, I’ll be doing a blog series that follows my Bible study: Sustain Us Oh Lord: Finding Strength When Life is Hard. In June, I taught the study at my church, so thought I would follow up with blog posts. This study began when I realized the multitude of Bible verses
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The feral mama in my neighborhood gathered her kittens as the Kansas wind increased. Storms were brewing. “Possibly severe,” the meteorologist warned. In Kansas, we take storms seriously. So did the feral mama, so her babies only needed to obey and follow her to the shelter she provided. Those kittens were carefully herded under a
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Throughout the years in multiple Bible studies and sermons, she has been pictured as the ‘not enough’ woman. Not enough faith. Not enough like her sister, Mary. Not enough commitment to stop everything and listen to Jesus teach. Yet, I like her. Martha. Legend says she was a wealthy widow, and it was her home
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In multiple places of scripture, we find the directive, “Be Still.” Entire sermons can be written about what that means, but each of us needs to determine our own response. How can we personally ‘be still?’ First, consider the opposite. What does it mean to not be still? When we worry about a situation we
Finding God’s will for our lives. Doing what God wants us to do. Being all God created us to be. These phrases are often buzz words for sermons, Bible studies, or podcasts. They represent thoughts we pray for, seek to attain as true Jesus-followers. Often with the hope of pleasing God. We focus on purpose
Pundits in the news media these days are writing and speaking about revenge. Enacting punishment on certain political opponents. Multiple lawsuits. And expressing the viciousness contained in social media posts. Yet for people who call themselves Jesus-followers, revenge should never be one of our labels. Instead, we are called to forgive. To step through the
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Perhaps this has happened to you. Plans are solid for an upcoming event. People invited. Groceries bought. Supplies carefully packed in the car. The space rented. Clothing chosen. You’re in charge and excited about the weekend. Then you wake up with a mysterious illness. Sore throat. Slight fever. COVID-negative but feeling lousy-positive. Can you push