Most of us remember a time when a friend came alongside us and said just the right thing, listened with compassion, or cared enough to bring us some needed correction. At the same time, most of us would admit we sometimes feel ill equipped to know what to say or do when a friend is struggling emotionally or spiritually. The question really isn’t whether we will be called to help a friend in...
Aaron became an elder in a church where I was the lead pastor. He was intelligent, knowledgeable of the Bible, a good husband and father, a good Bible teacher, and he discipled others. By all qualifications, he was a model elder. I was excited to have someone so capable to serve alongside in our growing church. I needed his strong leadership. As soon as the church installed him as an elder, his...
As a biblical counselor, one of my passions is to point my counselees to helpful biblical resources related to their struggles. Long after our one-on-one conversations are over, I want them to have tools in their hands for continued growth. An issue carries special urgency for me if I can’t find much written about the particular topic. More than once this lack of resources has motivated me to...
A month ago, my father-in-law passed away after a long illness. Three weeks ago, I fell and broke my collar bone. Last week we spent at the beach enjoying our children and grands (Nineteen of us including three babies!). Sunday my husband tested positive for COVID, so now he and I are quarantined together and our whole extended family had to get tested. Monday was our second oldest son’s 36th...
Trying to wrap my head and heart around the divisiveness that has marked so much public discourse lately, I spent some valuable time pondering three messy relational scenarios described in the New Testament. Each situation highlights how we, who are perfectly loved by Jesus, don’t easily handle our differences very well. In fact, until Jesus returns and we are made perfect in love (1 John...
