Has life ever hit you so hard that it’s left you questioning God?

Your boss lays you off. The industry you prepared years in school to enter collapses. Your spouse of 25 years says they don’t love you anymore, and leaves. The doctor says it’s cancer.  The teenager you raised in church gets arrested. The loved one you held up in prayer for healing, dies anyway

Throughout their lives, many of God’s kids carry around a big, heavy, burlap bag called guilt. We pick up this heavy burden of guilt from many different places, don’t we? For example, we pick up the bag of guilt from...

Just a few years ago, most people felt like they were on pretty solid ground. But now they find themselves in circumstances they would never have predicted. People are feeling anxious and are dealing with unprecedented pressures...

Relationships really matter, and recent scientific research supports this conclusion.

In a famous study on what lifestyle attributes make for human health and longevity, the Alameda County Study, researchers tracked the habits of nearly 8,000 residents of Alameda County, California, for decades.

If you’ve turned on the news lately, it is easy to be hit with discouragement. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the bad news that seems so commonplace. But we must keep in mind that even in the best of times, the enemy whispers lies, playing on our insecurities and fears, and casting discouragement in order to keep us down.

Doesn’t it seem at times, that modern life has become a circus?Sometimes we’re the juggler, trying to manage all the family, career and life responsibilities, or the tightrope walker, trying to walk that line between living for Christ and the constant pull of the world.

Why do people make New Year’s resolutions?

It’s an interesting tradition, isn’t it? The holidays have passed and the overindulgence is painfully obvious. Many people are still on vacation or winter break and find time for personal reflection. The turn of the calendar year feels like a clean start, and a chance to do things differently: eat better, exercise more consistently..

So many of us have been through epic battles over the last few years, and have suffered crushed hopes, physical damage and loss, or financial devastation. We’ve survived the battle, but now go through our days like Jacob, walking with a limp.

God, in His grace, has given us Scriptural promises for every barrier, obstacle or problem we may face, including things like sickness, worry and addiction. These “barriers,” whether big or small, simple or complicated, are actually just anything standing in the way of experiencing God’s best intention for our lives. 

Why does it seem that “peace on earth, good will toward men” is inapplicable in holiday traffic? Or at Black Friday sales. Or during Christmas dinner with disagreeable in-laws? The way most of us celebrate the holidays causes extraordinary mental stress, and difficulty in keeping our lives in balance...

As nations around the world are facing tough economic times, people are wondering how their governments are going to address the shortages of food and fuel that are approaching critical levels in many areas. 

Are you a planner, a list maker, a box checker? Do you like to have every detail of the Christmas season planned weeks in advance, gifts bought and wrapped by Thanksgiving, dinner reservations made, and show tickets picked up early? These are all good and noble goals. 

Contrary to popular belief, men and women are not created equal!

Now, if I left that truth there without explanation, many of you would get angry and stop reading. In today’s culture, we are all about equality, even affecting the words we use, like “humankind” instead of “mankind,” or stores offering “unisex” clothing.

And this is how the book of Jonah ends. Not with a “happily ever after,” rather, the story of Jonah ends with the prophet becoming frustrated, sun-scorched and throwing a pity party. 

According to the psalmist, vision is the key to living a happy and blessed life.

The reasons are many. When you and I have no vision for our lives, we will have no drive or discipline; we don’t know what to aim for, or direction to take. We don’t know how to focus our talents and energies and abilities to achieve a goal.

Sometimes it’s a very long journey from “Egypt” to the “Promised Land” in our lives. After the excitement of deliverance from bondage to Pharoah, we set off into the wilderness, thinking it’s only an 11-day trip to a new life of freedom and prosperity. 

What is God really like, His true nature? Depending on one’s upbringing and theology, we have all developed personal views of what God is like; these ideas are also likely very different from our neighbors’ views. 

Conflict is an inevitable part of life, whether it’s conflict in marriage, on the job, with a friend or family member. It’s so inevitable that it happens at times when you’d least expect it to. For example, conflict arising with your spouse as you’re driving to church. Does this sound familiar? 

Jesus made some hard statements during His earthly ministry. Some, like many of the parables, were hard to understand...

His Church is the center of His focus; it was created to be salt and light in this dark world. As a whole, we are the Body of Christ, working together, each bringing our specific gifts, talents and finances to do the will of the Father.

His Church is the center of His focus; it was created to be salt and light in this dark world. As a whole, we are the Body of Christ, working together, each bringing our specific gifts, talents and finances to do the will of the Father.

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus (God incarnate, Who demonstrated amazing power to do miracles), spent so much time in prayer? Scripture often records Him waking “a great while” before dawn to go off alone and spend time in prayer

These are some truly exciting times to be alive! We Christians have won some significant spiritual victories lately; hopelessness is turning back into faith and a confident expectation of God’s goodness. However, making progress for the Kingdom of God rarely comes without cost.

It’s a very simple truth – our lives are short. Human existence is but a breath, a moment. The wisest man in history pointed out that our days are numbered and that we should never forget this uncomfortable truth

Just look around – you can’t help but notice that we are living in some truly bizarre times! This crisis, that crisis. Feuds and divisions. Immorality becoming normalized. Natural disasters hitting at record size and strength, and anything but natural!

Many people struggle with the effects of their past mistakes, such as saying words in haste or anger that damage relationships, or making life-altering decisions which ended in failure or disappointment.

Asking God questions like why God, when God, or what now, God, is not wrong. If we’re honest, it probably forms the basis of much of our prayer life! 

Are you a generous person? Here’s a quick “self-check.” Can you honestly say…I routinely volunteer to help other people in need, I make financial contributions to many charities...

We all need hope to live, otherwise, we will just give up.

Some time ago researchers at Duke University decided that they would put the phrase “where there is life, there’s hope,” to the test, to see if it’s really true. 

Sometimes it's difficult, even for the most optimistic, to watch the news and not become discouraged by the state of the world these days: rising food and fuel prices, unemployment and injustice seem to be the rule of the day. 

Contrary to many skeptics’ opinion, the Bible is not simply a collection of ancient religious documents, filled with mythology and fantastic stories. Over the last century, especially, archeology and historical studies have proven the facts of many of the people, places and things discussed in Scripture. 

During His ministry on earth, Jesus made some pretty shocking statements: Love your enemy | If someone slaps you on the face, turn the other cheek | In order to follow Me, you have to hate your mother and father | Give 10% of all your financial increase to My house….

Several years ago, there was a highly acclaimed movie that came out called “War Room,” which centered on the importance of the personal prayer closet. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend renting it tonight and watching with your whole family! 

Getting a “good education” makes for a generally more fulfilling life, from finding better job prospects and higher wage earnings, to more interesting life experiences. It's a promise made by high school guidance counselors, parents, and recruiters everywhere, as a sort of secular “promised land” for ambitious, hard-working students.

Have you ever struggled to flip a mattress or move an oversized sofa all by yourself, and thought help, I need somebody? Or ladies, have you ever struggled to reach the back zipper of a dress without success, and thought help, I need somebody! Or you stand in front of a closed door, with hands full of heavy groceries, thinking hello?! I need someone...help!

If anyone needed “grace for the grind” during his earthly ministry, it had to be the Apostle Paul! He gave us a glimpse of what it means to be faithful in difficult circumstances in 1 Corinthians 11:22-28.

The past two years have truly been a time of testing and stretching for the church of God. Congregations which had not previously developed an online presence and a skilled production team found themselves at the beginning of lockdown scrambling to keep connected to their church members over the internet.

With apologies to baseball fans everywhere, football is actually America’s most popular sport...

Names are very important in the Bible. Parents would often choose a name for their new baby that described the circumstances surrounding the birth, or contained a blessing for the baby's life and destiny...

Have you ever had an issue that has defined you? Something that has hindered you and sapped your life of its strength? Perhaps a habit or addiction has stolen your identity, damaged your relationships, wounded your family, drained your finances, crushed your hope, dreams and aspirations... or made you feel powerless and insignificant.

For anyone paying attention to politics these days, it’s no great revelation to say that we are a deeply divided nation, especially regarding issues touching on race. While we have made significant progress in some areas, there remains much to be done.

Have you ever traveled down a “broken road”? That is, has your journey in life ever been detoured by the disappointment of unmet expectations, poor choices, abuse or addictions? I'm sure we all have, because the truth is, life is filled with broken roads. 

For many families, reading Charles Dickens'  A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve is a tradition that goes back generations. It's a classic story that speaks to us through its unforgettable and timeless characters...

There are so many traditions at Christmas time, from picking out a fresh tree, hanging lights and decorations, baking cookies and drinking hot chocolate, to Christmas movie marathons and going to grandma's house for dinner.

Impossible! It’s a word we have heard throughout human history. The Wright brothers were told no one can make an aircraft for man to fly in...it's impossible!

Are you a “glass half full” or a “glass half empty” kind of person? It seems to me that some of us are genetically wired to be “half full” people; we have this tendency to look on the bright side of things and be full of hope. And some of us aren’t. Some of us see hopelessness in every situation, no matter what.

There is so much to be thankful for in this life. God blessed humanity with a beautiful world to live in, the opportunity to have meaningful relationships with others, and the offer of eternal salvation for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. People can be thankful when there is needed rain, or sunshine after lots of cloudy days.

The floating axe head miracle in 2 Kings serves as a great teaching metaphor of a common, modern problem: even when doing everything right, Christians can lose their passion, or their “edge” in life and ministry.

My grandfather was a real “man’s man.” I remember him as being big and strong, even with the prosthetic leg he had from the knee down. When he would put it on, he would say, “It’s time for me to become The Bionic Man,” and back then, I believed he really did have a super robot leg like Steve Majors on the TV show.

Of all the things we could say about social media, one thing is certain: it should remind us that our lives are on display for all to see. Posting photos, sharing links and writing comments opens up our lives...

If you’ve been around church people for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly heard them say, “God spoke to me, and told me to….” And maybe you’ve wondered, whatever do they mean by that?

Years ago, there was an article in a prominent fashion magazine that stated supermodels were the most envied women in the world. It said today’s pretty women, supermodels, represent a new breed: mannequins with sex appeal.

Have you ever played the game called Scruples? It's a popular board game from the 1980s that asked the players questions regarding everyday ethical and moral dilemmas.

Whenever bad things unexpectedly happen to us (like a job lay off, an unfaithful spouse, or a shocking doctor’s diagnosis), we can be knocked off our “spiritual balance.”

According to a recent article in Business Insider, the family unit continues to be under attack. It is likely that 39% of marriages today will end in divorce, and that divorce can be financially devastating.

It’s often been said that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting to get a different result.

When I look around the world today there seems to be a happiness vacuum. There are more hurting people, hating people and hopeless people than there are happy people.

I heard a joke recently about two store owners who were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from one another...

One of the tell-tale signs of being at the very end of the Church age is people gradually moving away from the things of God...

Many years ago, I became a young pastor of a small church in Connecticut. One day a man who had been attending for a while approached me...

It seems like everywhere we look, there are deep divisions based on political beliefs, perceived offenses, actual offenses and personal opinion. 

In our modern "don't judge me" culture, it can be difficult to keep ourselves free from compromise and the influence of the world.

Every believer's life is a spiritual race of sorts, complete with unseen obstacles and potholes of temptation...

Until about 20 years ago, no one really knew who Jabez was.

It’s amazing what desperation will cause us to do...

“On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’  Now when they had left the multitude...

Have you ever felt like life has caused you to lose yourself?

Many years ago, when my children were much younger, I would routinely come home after a long day just to find a toy laying in pieces on top of the counter.  

In this digital age, our lives seem to revolve around our mobile devices... 

There’s an old saying that goes when life hands you lemons, make lemonade!  

Memorial Day is upon us again. It’s the holiday that kicks off summer... 

Recently I noticed some difficulty reading small print, so off I went to the optometrist to be examined... 

There is something deep inside us that knows this simple truth: prayer should be...

Perhaps when you read the title of this article, it puzzled you, but you read it correctly. There are many benefits of having an enemy.