Who are you waiting for during this advent season? Will you recognize him when he gets here? Or are your circumstances so tough that you’re having second thoughts? “I was just diagnosed with cancer. This is not my idea of a loving God.” “What am I really doing for Christmas? Sitting alone in my empty… Read More
Urgency and Advent
Oil and Water. Truth and Grace. Urgency and Advent. These things don’t mix. Except when God is a part of the picture. God anoints you as his child and gives you living water. God knows the real you and, by his grace, loves you anyway. But because the truth demands justice, his son came to… Read More
Growing to maturity
If you are a victim of abuse, you remain a victim until you choose to enter into the healing process–which includes forgiveness. When you choose to forgive your abuser(s), it releases the hold that the abuser(s) has over you. Your choice to forgive begins to remove the pain and scars they have left in your… Read More
Ephesians 3:11-13 He’s carrying me through my troubles.
When my circumstances stink, when I’m up against a wall, when I’m surrounded and the harder I try the deeper I sink, when I feel alone and abandoned, when others hurt me… God says, “Don’t be afraid; trust me. Boldly go out on the mission I laid out for you. I feel your pain–I’ve suffered… Read More
Ephesians 3:9-10 Chosen
Has God chosen you for a specific task? I’m in the grandma stage of my life, so I have a lot of years and choosings to look back at. I realize that God chose me for certain tasks at different stages in my life. It was only about ten years ago that I thought, “Aha.… Read More
Ephesians 3:7-8 What’s your excuse?
What’s stopping you from doing God’s mission for you? When I read through Paul’s list of excuses, I was surprised at the similarity to mine. I had always thought of Paul as an extremely confident, know-it-all kind of guy, and here I was reading a list of his anxieties about himself–lots of excuses giving his… Read More
Ephesians 3:4-6 Come on in, ya’all!
The original non-discrimination clause. Ephesians 3:4-6 (New Living Translation) As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has… Read More
Kathleen S Evenhouse 