"I Just Can't Go": The Importance of Gathering with the Local Church
"In today's fast-paced world, the thought of joining a church prayer meeting or gathering with brothers and sisters for a Bible study (sometimes even on Sunday morning) can seem overwhelming. It's one more thing on top of our already-hectic day. Speculations swirl through our minds. Darting thoughts remind us of the faults of others—and ourselves. We're tired, and it's easy to make excuses to keep us from assembling with the saints. But amidst these weary, heavy days, our greatest need (apart from Christ himself) is to be among the Lord's people.’” - I Just Can’t Go: The Importance of Gathering with the Local Church, by Katherine Pittman
When Suffering Comes, Lean on What You Know
"When the disease pains us, our prodigal child grieves us, our friend betrays us, and our marriage is tested, it is natural to wonder what God is doing. Many of us ask, ‘Why, God?”’and our question isn’t wrong in itself. But perhaps the better question is, ‘Why am I asking God why?’” - When Suffering Comes, Lean on What You Know, by Kristen Wetherell
The Importance of Identity
"‘Who are you and what are you doing here?’ As followers of Jesus, we believe God is the designer of humanity and we are his creations. As such, we also believe he has handmade each of us for good works that he has purposed for us to be and do (Eph. 2:10). God, as our creator, is the only one who is qualified to speak with authority about our identity. If we listen to him, he is answering those two questions for us.” - The Importance of Identity by Matt Lantz
Dear College Student: 4 Encouragements to Live on Mission
"For four years, you have the opportunity to reach those from the other side of the globe with the gospel by simply walking across the hall. If we are called to go and “proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15), this is the most risk-free step of obedience we can take. We have the privilege of fulfilling the Great Commission right here on our campuses.” - Dear College Student: 4 Encouragements to Live on Mission, by Ellie Sauder
A Tale of Two Tears
"Our tears often express outwardly the toil we feel inwardly as we reconcile the world as we know it with the world as we ought to know it. Tears are the outworking of this obscurity. Tears are the testament to myself, others, and God that I am desperately trying to make sense of the pain that plagues me. Our tears proclaim our measures of faith, or lack thereof. In the act of crying, we are being transformed. Our pain is not useless, our suffering is not unseen, and our tears are not a burden. Our tears are a gift.” - A Tale of Two Tears, by S. A. Morrison
Storytellers and Disciple-Makers: Stewarding Our Creativity for a Watching World
"I cannot always tie a bow of finality on my stories. Most of them are still being lived, still being learned. But whether I write with humor, or with a homesickness that shows all I long for Jesus to make right, I do write with the assurance of my true home in mind. There is not an honest soul on earth who does not in some way resonate with things that make us laugh, or with this distant hum of a feeling that this life cannot be all there is. Our stories may just be the thing God uses to show the world the origin and hope of all of our lives.” - Storytellers and Disciple-Makers: Stewarding Our Creativity for a Watching World, by Katie Blackburn
5 Truths About Your Physical and Spiritual Health
"When it comes to our physical lives and our spiritual lives, we must each choose who we will serve (Joshua 24:14-15). We must each run the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1). We must each set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:1). Let us ask the God who made us to help us commit to both our spiritual and physical well being. These bodies and souls and lives are not our own—they were bought with a price. May we honor and glorify our God who made us, saved us, and strengthens us.” - 5 Truths About Your Physical and Spiritual Health, by Jen Oshman
Faith in Anxiety
"I cried often during those months. I wanted to have a testimony of how my faith had helped me through. I knew there were so many people who walked through harder times than ours. I spent my life reading their beautiful testimonies of faith. They would talk about how they saw God’s hand every step of the way. Stories like this made me cry as I read because I knew no matter what I faced we had a faithful God. But they also made me question my faith. Why couldn’t I see God working in my own pain?” - Faith in Anxiety, by Elizabeth Santelmann
Where is God When Life Changes?
"We know change is inevitable. To be human is to experience the ebbs and flows of life. Some changes are planned and are accompanied with minimal strain; others are so life-altering we sometimes refer to them as death and rebirth. We know our lives will change, but the inevitable is still shocking. Even when change is good, it’s hard. Yet with every change, we have an opportunity to learn with greater conviction that God is good.” - Where is God When Life Changes, by Shar Walker
Fighting Relational Fear by Cultivating Delight
"Our natural bent in relationships is to seek safety by trusting our own wisdom: we fight back, run away, endeavor to please people, judge others, or compete against them. This dark side of self-protection is really a form of fear, and even for those of us who are in Christ, it can still be a visceral response that rules us. So how do we learn to be ruled by something better than our own wisdom?” - Fighting Relational Fear by Cultivating Delight, by Aylin Merck
Three Things Your Pastor’s Wife Wishes You Knew
"You probably know her from afar. Ask anyone from your church and they could point her out to you, that woman your pastor is married to. And you might be curious about her. What does life look like in her family day to day? Is there any way you could get to know her better? As a pastor’s wife for almost 50 years, let me share three insights into what it’s like for her to be married to your pastor--three peeks into her life that could help you build a bridge to her heart.” - Three Things Your Pastor’s Wife Wishes You Knew, by Jani Ortlund
Friendship Around God’s Table
"We ordered the largest U-haul truck available, passed out the inadequate “thank you” treats of coffee and donuts to our box-loading friends, and drove off to a new everything… Now we’re here. The moving truck has long since been returned, and the emptied boxes recycled. Even the first new school year has been completed. But our still-undecorated walls reflect the newness that remains. We still need to learn new roads and new favorite takeout places. Yet the most daunting task of all is establishing new friendships.” - Friendship Around God's Table, by Myra Dempsey
How Should We Cry Out to God?
“In so many ways I see the tension between brokenness and beauty, injustice and promised redemption, Jesus’ finished work and the pain that still exists in our world. And as I wander through this broken world with my broken body, I am encouraged by the model I see from the psalmist: a model of honest, true, broken lament that leads to sure, true, steadfast hope. I see him enter into the grief, acknowledge the brokenness, and yet in the midst of it still cling to faith in God. My heart swells at the thought, “could my grief be the very path that leads me to deeper hope?”” - How Should We Cry Out to God? by Lauren Bowerman
Grief's Path To God
“In our grief, we wait. Our souls wait for God to show up, to redeem, to carry us through. We hope in his word, his promises, his character. This is the intersection of pain and promise, this place of waiting in our grief. It may not be the grief of losing someone you love. It may be the death of a dream that you grieve, the loss of a relationship, the disappointment of a spouse’s choices or even the inability to conceive. It may be the loss of an ability, health, or youth. We bring these losses to God and we wait. But notice how we wait.” - Grief’s Path to God, by Christine Gordon and Hope Blanton
Confess Your Sins—and Sing!
“David, our psalmist, stands before a great Judge in Psalm 32. But he does so to argue his guilt—not his innocence. David admits his sins and instead of a conviction, this Judge grants forgiveness and full pardon. What kind of Judge is this? What criminal justice system on earth acquits a confessing offender? How should we understand this passage? How does Psalm 32 encourage a Christian to make bold confessions of sin before the holy Judge of heaven?” - Confess Your Sins–And Sing! by Nana Dolce
Knowing God Through His Word
“There was an un-transformative belief that saturated the halls of my college; a lostness that hummed at the bottom of empty bottles. I lived in that hollow reality for 23 years, and it was only by God’s grace that I finally saw the light. When I think about the year God called me to himself, my heart is burdened for the women who believe a gospel contrary to the life-changing one I know. My heart is burdened because in realizing just how desperately fallen I was, I saw the beauty of God’s grace.” - Knowing God Through His Word by Amy Hornbuckle
Suffering Turns Our Hearts to God
“In suffering and trials, we clearly see our need for God’s help. And when we call out to him, he runs to provide it. He walks with us through dark valleys, assuring us we are never alone (Ps 23:4). He gives us joy in his presence (Ps 16:11), surrounds us with steadfast love (Ps 32:10), revives us with his word (Ps 19: 7), waits to be gracious to us (Is 30:18), and renews our strength (Is 40:31). Our neediness becomes a blessing because it makes us seek the Lord and depend on his strength.” - Suffering Turns Our Hearts to God by Vaneetha Risner
Serving the Lord With Gladness
“To this day, I still struggle to feel glad about the work God establishes for me. Sure, I may serve him outwardly, but my heart often feels rascally, sulky, and angry. Does God really expect me to feel glad about the interruptions, messes, and do-overs that derail me from day to day? Yet in those moments, it’s helpful for me to remember that the entirety of Psalm 100:2 points to the spark that will ignite gladness in our hearts.” - Serving the Lord with Gladness by Laura Booz
Snuggled Up Tight in Providence
“I’ve crawled up under the literal blanket called providence a whole bunch of times, and I’ve hidden under the wing called Providence more times than I can count, and certainly more times than I know. When it looks like a physical, emotional, or spiritual case for Doc McStuffins’ Big Book of Boo Boos, I hope to remember the quilt called providence, and maybe tuck myself or my loved one up in it.” - Snuggled Up Tight In Providence by Holly Mackle
The Fruit of Cultivating a Heart of Thankfulness
“Sometimes trials lay heavy on our shoulders, curving us inward and making it difficult to look up. Thankfulness can feel impossible when suffering closes in. When those times come, and come they will, maybe what we need most is to be reminded of what God has done and is doing. Yet, many of us also struggle to be thankful when our life is going smoothly. Instead, we might be anxious about what’s to come or maybe we’re busy living in a facade of self-sufficiency. Regardless of the season we face today, we can begin to cultivate a heart of thankfulness.” - The Fruit of Cultivating a Heart of Thankfulness by Brittany Allen