The apostle Paul wrote, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).  To be joyful in hope is absolutely crucial in a dark and broken world.  Hope is simply confident expectation in God.  One doctrine that helps us live in confident expectation is God’s sovereignty.  Christians believe that God does not cause everything, but controls everything.  He has com...

     For three and a half years I worked on a suicide intervention phone line.  Six nights a week people would call me drowning in hopelessness, sometimes literally with a gun to his head or a bottle of pills in her hand.  My job was to share hope, to help people find enough hope to keep moving forward.  Hope is simply confident expectation, and it is essential.  As a Christian I believe that Jesu...

      In Romans 12 the apostle Paul shares with us how Christians should live.  First, live for God.  He tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), meaning to lay aside our own desires and follow him, putting all our energy and resources at his disposal and trusting him to guide us. It has been said after our passing, most sum up someone’s life in a sentence.  What is your se...

     As New Year’s Day approaches many people spend time reflecting and deciding to make some changes in their lives.  Some write out new year’s resolutions.  And yet it seems that most people do not actually succeed with those resolutions over the long term.  So how do we change?  How do we grow? I believe God is always working in our lives to help us grow and change but we have a part to play.  ...

     Christmas is almost upon us.  This beautiful holiday dominates our December every year.  But how do we get the most out of it?  How do we prepare ourselves for it?     First, pause and reflect.  December is very busy for most people.  There can be travel or house guests, there are presents to buy and extra events to attend.  Make sure that you take a little time in these final days leading up...