Have you ever felt like an outcast? Of course you have. We have all felt outsider-like twinges from time to time. I know I have! No one is exempt from these humbling and bewildering emotions. People have the power to draw a social circle—invisible, yet real—and simply not allow us inside that space. These brush-offs…
“God hates me. I know he does,” my friend cried in desperation. Malachi 1:3 and Romans 9:13 say, “God hated Esau.” “If God can hate Esau then he can hate me too,” my friend reasoned. But Scripture also says God is love, and perfect love casts out fear. She had me wondering, “Can love and…
The other day, I received a call from a friend. She was in tears, overwhelmed with her to-do list—not just work stress, but also a kiddo struggling with mean girls, an aging mom needing rides to the doctor’s office, and a looming deadline for her writing. Worse, she felt guilty because she couldn’t figure out…
First Kings records a sad summary of King Solomon’s life, but we have other writings from him in the Bible, including the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes seems to offer a humble reflection on significant life endeavors with an understanding of human limitations. Ecclesiastes 3:9-15 says: What does the worker gain from his struggles? I have seen…
“So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” (1 Kings 3:9 NIV) A girl in the high school class I taught showed up one morning in a T-shirt that had Mickey Mouse emblazoned on the front. I paid it little attention. It never occurred to me that Mickey…
When I first came to faith, the thing I struggled with most was what to do next. Everyone told me that the best way to get to know God was to read the Bible. Since I didn’t grow up in the faith, this seemed like an impossible task. I could make it through most of…