Has anything in your life gripped hold of your shoulders and held you down? Pressed its weight on your chest until you're straining for each breath? Darkness attacks when we're most vulnerable. Seizing us in its terrifying hold, the enemy crushes our strength in an effort to cripple us. Shadows zoom…
Shades of indigo clung to the night's damp air, pooling deep in the stone corners of their dwelling. Mineral scents wafted from the moist earthen floor as James tossed on his straw mat. He pulled his cloak up over his shoulders, drew his limbs in tight against his body, and set his jaw.…
"Some wandered in desert wastelands, . . . hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord . . . and he delivered them . . . Let them give thanks to the Lord . . . for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with…
"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared" (Exodus 23:20). I wiggled on the plastic seat and squinted toward the floor of the expo hall. Four hundred fifty-four square black caps huddled into rows…
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Refugees abandon homes in pursuit of it. Defendants empty bank accounts to negotiate it. Acquisition offers empty promises of it. Anesthesia poisons the flesh with temporary illusions of it. A mother of…
"children running and shouting through the Temple, 'Hosanna to David’s Son!' . . . Jesus said, 'Yes, I hear them. And haven’t you read in God’s Word, ‘From the mouths of children and babies I’ll furnish a place of praise’?'” (Matthew 21:15-16). Easter dawned on the horizon as Christ marched through formidable gates to…
"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). I hit the snooze. Again. Before I know it, those red digits glare alarming numbers. I have fifteen minutes to get out of the house. After a quick prayer, I hack my…
"Therefore put on the full armor of God,so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. . . . Take the helmet of salvation" (Ephesians 6:13,17). I enjoy a solitary day at the mall, unless I'm searching for…
"Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth . . ." As we prepare to face evil himself, the first element revealed for our defense is truth. And it's a belt. Ho hum. Belts live in a neglected rack at the back of the department store--a fashion afterthought at best. Shouldn't…
On one of THOSE days, the alarm clock fails to rouse me. After the third slap at the snooze button, I'll roll off the bed to press my forehead on the carpet in prayer. In my fogginess, I misjudge the distance and crash a bit harder into the floor than I…