“I love Robert dearly and am deeply grateful to be loved and cherished by this tender, humble, godly man. But Robert Wolgemuth is no substitute for God, and as much as he might want to, he cannot meet the deepest needs of my heart.…
“If God, in His wisdom and providence, ordains … for me to be widowed at some point, I know that the spring of joy that Christ has been to me all these years will remain unchanged and will sustain me through those seasons of loss and grief.”
Lies Women Believe, 2018 edition
❤️🩹
@BiblicalBeauty@peasantsdaught1 It may come across as poor manners to a stranger who doesn't know her. Not so to lovin friends & family. I'd appreciate such kind of direction. In the end,the message gladly leaves one with a choice to follow her directive or just show up as they are...no gift!
I dreamt about my son, Kaleb, last night. I was watching him from a distance with a friend. Then he came over to where I stood and hugged me. I could smell him.
I woke up this morning and told my wife, weeping as I told her. Then she started crying. That hug will happen one Day.
“This grief, this sorrow, this loss that empties my hands and breaks my heart, I may, if I will, accept, and by accepting it, I find in my hands something to offer. And so I give it back to Him, who in mysterious exchange gives Himself to me.”
—Amy Carmichael (1867–1951)
“This grief, this sorrow, this loss that empties my hands and breaks my heart, I may, if I will, accept, and by accepting it, I find in my hands something to offer. And so I give it back to Him, who in mysterious exchange gives Himself to me.”
—Amy Carmichael (1867–1951)
I’m very concerned with the way modern Christianity tends to think about our “devotional life.” It seems as if we’ve reduced these devotions down to five minutes of reading a Psalm and saying a quick prayer for the day, or, reading an e-mail devotional sent out by a pastor.
Gentleness will not come naturally to you. Sin has turned your heart into a wrecking ball. But remember, you're never alone. There's grace for your struggle. Jesus is with you, Jesus is for you, and Jesus is in you.
Happy 80th birthday, Pastor John! God has been greatly glorified in you, because you have been so deeply satisfied in him — and because you’ve brought so many of us into that supreme Joy.
Three years ago, I started daily postings for Bible in One Year. The videos and explanations were so well received that I did it again in 2024 and this year. Never did I foresee that tens of thousands of you would join us for the ride! Every year's journey has been a great blessing to me.
And guess what? We are doing it again in 2026!
When you click on the link below to sign up, here's what you will receive:
📋 The 2026 Bible in One Year Reading Plan (PDF). We follow the Blended Plan that "blends" readings from the OT and NT
📷 Daily Bible-reading emails with each day’s passages
📷 Daily videos from me and Erick Sorensen, my friend and colleague @1517.
I hope that you all will join us. What could be better than a daily feast of the Word of God?
Tag your friends, family, pastor, and fellow congregational members if you think they would like to sign up as well. The more, the merrier!
Here is the link: https://t.co/GmXaZBMoiP
On this second day after Christmas, it is worth pausing to remember Joseph.
He stands within the Christmas story and yet remains largely in its margins. He is not the center, and rightly so. Christ alone occupies that place. Still, the story would not unfold as it does without Joseph.
Not a single word from Joseph is preserved in the four Gospels. Scripture records none of his speech, only his faith. And in this, his silence becomes eloquent.
Joseph is a righteous man. When God disclosed to him that Mary was with child by the Holy Spirit, he believed the miracle. He did not divorce her. Instead, he took Mary as his wife and shouldered the responsibility of caring for her and Jesus. He guarded her, provided for her, and became the earthly father to the child who was, in truth, the Son of God.
In faithfulness, Joseph carried an extraordinary calling: to care for God in the flesh.
In this way, Joseph embodies what it means to live as a child of God in the world: through quiet fidelity. He was a faithful husband, a faithful father, a faithful servant of the Most High.
So let us give thanks to God for Joseph and all the Joseph-like men who, unseen and often uncelebrated, continue to reflect this same faithful obedience.
In small moments, Jesus is delivering every redemptive promise he has made to you. In the unremarkable moments, he is working to rescue you from you and transform you into his likeness.
Whatever bad news has entered your life this year:
-the loss of a job
-the loss of a friendship
-the loss of a spouse or a child
-a terrible diagnosis from a doctor
Whatever sorrow has come to you, here is good news.
Indeed, it is the best of news, news that quiets the heart and sets every grief in its proper place.
It is the good news the angels announced to the shepherds on the night our Lord was born: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which shall be for all the people.”
For you who grieve? Yes.
For you who hurt? Yes.
For you who are anxious? Yes.
This good news, which gives meaning and proportion to every sorrow, is the Incarnation, the becoming-human of God himself.
The Son of God became one of us. Skin, hair, blood, and bones.
In so doing, he proved beyond all doubt that God is not against us, but for us.
He willingly became one of us to dwell among us, to save us, and to make us children of our Father.
Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy.
God is for you in Jesus. And there is no better news than that.
Merry Christmas to you all!
Do you actively seek ways in which you can encourage God’s people? Are you quick to point out evidence of God’s grace or the fruit of the Spirit in their lives?
Today, six years ago, we said goodbye to Kaleb. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. I miss him so much.
While life goes on, it never goes on the same way. There's a void and absence that can't be ignored or replaced.
Only Jesus makes it bearable. He keeps sustaining us.
“Occasionally, weep deeply over the life that you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Feel the pain. Then wash your face, trust God, and embrace the life that He’s given you.” – John Piper