inspiring

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. — John 1:1 My eight year old brought up an interesting question the other day: "How was God there when there was no where to be?" Good question. Here in this verse we find the only reference to God before and outside of creation. The Word, we discover, as we keep on reading, was the expression of the Father. How do we know about God, that One who is so much bigger and greater than our minds can imagine? We experience Him, we embrace Him, we…

A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all. — Psalm 34:19 When trouble comes, our misperceptions rush to the surface…. I’m trapped. God has forgotten about me. It will only get worse. God doesn’t like me any more. God is just punishing me for something I must have done wrong. God likes to see me squirm. Then God gives us an opportunity to replace doubt with faith. This is Divine work — we cannot do it on our own. We can only bring our deepest fears to Jesus and see what He wants to do with…

And God said, "Let …" — Genesis 1:3 … Jesus replied, "Let …" — Matthew 3:15In the Bible, God’s first word is "let." Permit. Allow. Give room for. Break free. God, the One who is so often characterized as the narrow-minded maker of restrictions, opens the universe with the word "let." God permits His plans to unfold. He allows His creation to take shape. He gives room for free moral agents to come into being, some to choose Him and others to reject Him forever.In the Bible, Jesus’ first word is also "let." "Let it be so now …" Allow…