Penitence, the result of fully facing your own sin, leading to true repentance, is an integral spiritual discipline of Lent. The gift of repentance only comes to the penitent heart, providing the courage of confession. Yet instead of coming to God in sorrow and humility, we come bearing an armload of excuses for our sin, finding true confession and subsequent…
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The Courage of Confession
The Wilderness of Lent
While the Lenten season holds a form of anticipation, it holds less Joyful anticipation than the Advent season. Recently reflecting on Lent as more of a wilderness experience, I wondered at the difference between the expectancy of Advent and the almost remorseful feeling of the wilderness of Lent. Thoughts of the wilderness imply a feeling of loss, perhaps a surrendering…
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Beholding the Limitless Beauty of Christ
While the components of repentance, reflection, and restoration remain the same for me each Lenten season, a theme often surfaces for my focus. Stillness encompassed my heart’s attention in 2022, while this year, my heart is resting in “beholding” the limitless beauty of Christ. The Lord began inviting me into a deeper communion with Him through beholding in my daily…
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Where Are You Placing Your Trust?
In uncertain times we often vacillate between trusting God, other people, or ourselves. Only to find increased anxiety and a sense of disillusionment. I will often trust God initially, but when things fail to resolve on my timetable, I suddenly begin shifting allegiance. Playing out in a spiritual shell game with no clear winner. In the uncertainty of your days…
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Beholding God’s Beauty
In the middle of my daily prayer just before my bible reading, I felt God’s gentle hand stop me. Each day, as I open scripture, I ask for “eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to receive,” all God has for me not only in the passage but within my day. But on this particular day, God moved…
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Embracing an Uncertain Future
Just for fun, I asked someone the other day how they felt about the future. Perhaps their general optimistic attitude influenced their answer, but they expressed excitement about possibilities. Then I asked another person how they felt about an uncertain future. Immediately pensive, they expressed anxiety and foreboding. Same question both times, except for the word “uncertain”. Why are thoughts…
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The Hope Which Anchors Our Souls
My new One Word for 2023, Hope and I have fast-tracked our acquaintance, spending a good deal of time together as the new year came in clothed with uncertainty and trial. Every post written in the month of January had a theme surrounding Hope. Pondering a visual for my One Word friend, Hebrews 6:19-20 drew me in with the Hope…
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7 Marks of a Trust-Filled Heart
Approaching Valentine’s Day, much attention focuses on affections of the heart. Considering the fickle nature of often mis-placed affections, I wonder if a better endeavor might entail a survey of the things and people our heart trusts in the most. This Valentine’s Day give yourself the gift of 7 Marks of a trust-filled heart. Every day we decide where to…
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4 Ways to Trust God in Uncertainty
Occasionally I enjoy reading the various predictions for the coming year. Most times things fail in coming to fruition, but at the start, negative predictions bring a deal of anxiety. The start of 2023 portends much uncertainty in just about every sector. From geo-political to finance and the economy, instability and uncertainty loom large. Join me this week for 4…
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