Impossible Faith – Part 3

This is part 3 of a series on the impossible faith of the saints mentioned in Hebrews 11. Find part one here, and part two here.

Daniel

Daniel was given a clear choice – obey the king or obey God. There was no confusion over what King Darius’ decree meant or what God’s will required. There were no fuzzy grey areas or possible loopholes. Either Daniel obeyed the king and ceased praying for the next thirty days or he obeyed God and prayed anyway. To obey the king was clear disobedience to God and to obey God was clear disobedience to the king.

Continue reading →

31st May 2020 0

Still Waiting

Things haven’t changed much since the last time I wrote, about a month ago. We are still waiting at home. We are still waiting to see when things begin to open up and we can resume some of our regular activities. We are still waiting to see what the full impact of COVID-19 will be. We are still waiting to see how this will impact our ministry here.

Continue reading →

19th May 2020 0

Impossible Faith – Part Two

This is the second in a series about the “impossible” faith of the saints listed in Hebrews 11. For part one click here.

Gideon

Like Noah, Abraham, and others, God asked Gideon to do something which seemed very strange. Yet, Gideon believed God, and as a result he was used by God to win an improbable victory.

Continue reading →

17th May 2020 0

Impossible Faith – Part One

In one sense, faith in God is impossible. From the point of view of the lost sinner – blind to the action of God in the world and deaf to the words of God – faith is utterly ridiculous and one giant leap too far. Faith is only possible when the Spirit of God opens the sinner’s eyes to the unseen. Until that happens, the life of faith will appear to be utter nonsense.

Continue reading →

3rd May 2020 0

Staying Home

I remember back in high school I read one of those books where the bad guys threaten world existence with a deadly virus. I think the book was labeled under science fiction. Well, there is nothing fiction about the current pandemic, even if there is no evil empire behind the whole thing (unless you believe some reports). What has been surprising, and rather concerning, is the global scope of COVID-19. “We’re all in this together” is an apt way of putting it.

Continue reading →

22nd April 2020 0

Why Is Faith So Hard?

Why is faith so hard? Sure, there are mountaintop moments and golden summers where we feel God’s presence as real as anything. But more often than not, especially in the muck and madness of the world, God appears distant and faith seems a scandal. Both skeptic and saint have wondered how there can be both a good, all-powerful God in heaven and a world full of death and decay down below. And that is just the beginning of a landslide of questions which threaten to smother our faith and leave it for dead.

Continue reading →

19th April 2020 0

Oh the Irony

Young boy trapped in a prison of pain
Success is money; it's talent and fame
He hates himself cause he's not the same
His worth is defined by his guilt and shame
And nothing will wash the deepest stain
So one cold night in the dark and rain
He points a gun to blow his brain.

And everyone cries tragedy
Why does this have to be?
Tears flow because it's sad to see
A precious life turn into vanity

Young girl now, with a rare disease
It hurts to fight, it hurts to speak
The body breaks, the spirit's weak
Cause death is a relentless beast
Better to give in, than burden these
So a doctor hands her pills of ease
She slips away on a summer breeze

And everyone applauds bravery
Why should she suffer needlessly?
Sweet tears flow merrily
For a girl who broke the chains of slavery

Oh the irony
Oh the irony
One life is tough, tearful tragedy
The other is bold, beautiful bravery
And woe are we
Woe are we
If we fail to see the inconsistency

- circa 2013

Continue reading →

8th April 2020 0

What It Means To Live

When your world gets turned upside down it can leave you disoriented and afraid. You suddenly find yourself in a place you have never been, nor imagined, and everything you thought you knew gets called into question. That’s kind of what has happened with the sudden emergence of COVID-19 as a world threat. Our lives have either already been turned upside down by this new reality, or they are at the tipping point and it doesn’t take much for us to imagine what it might be like. We start asking the big “what if” question and it’s not hard to think it could come to fruition.

Continue reading →

5th April 2020 0

New Life, New Update

Two weeks ago I (Scott) was on a video chat with my mom when Annemarie got home from her doctor’s appointment and said, “well, the baby might be born tonight.” I said goodbye to mom, ended the call, and quickly asked Annemarie for more details. According to the doctor, the level of amniotic fluid in the womb had dropped significantly and waiting another two weeks until the due date could put the baby at risk. She would need to be induced that night, or the next morning. After recovering from the suddenness of the news, we both decided that we would wait until the morning. This would give us time to arrange care for the other kids and to get everything ready.

Continue reading →

25th March 2020 0