Take the next step:
Letting go of hurt and resentment
How can forgiveness bring freedom? Take our online lesson.
Are you suffering in a turbulent home? Talk to a us.

Take the next step:
Letting go of hurt and resentment
How can forgiveness bring freedom? Take our online lesson.
Are you suffering in a turbulent home? Talk to a us.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it?

Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. If stress dominates your life, you could be looking to move passed those situations. It’s hard to cope with stress when you can’t put the past behind you. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Are you ready to choose a different path?

Jesus came, and died, and rose again to wipe the slate clean. He was scourged, tormented, and finally nailed on the cross for humankind’s sins – this was all part of God’s plan to bring you and I back into relationship with him. God wants to be a part of your life … in fact, not just a part of your life, but wants you to live in full fellowship with Him. Is this the life for you?

God loves you and created you to know Him personally. He longs for you to have the kind of full life you were always meant to have. So why do people not experience this kind of life? People are lost and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love. Because of our sins, we justly deserve judgement. But God provided his Son, Jesus Christ, as the only provision for our sin. He died in our place, then he rose from the dead.

We must individually trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally, receive forgiveness for our sins, and experience His love: “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)

We trust God through faith. You can trust Christ right now by faith through prayer! (Prayer is just talking with God.) God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?

These two mental pictures are merely glimpses of Scott Hamilton’s life. There is no doubt that he has faced his own ups and downs; yet, when asked what he prays about, Scott discussed having a grateful heart. Gratitude! Despite being drained physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, in his heart, all he wanted to do is say: thank you. Even still, a heartfelt conversation with a nurse opened his eyes to the true meaning of being a Father.

Take the next step:

Learning to trust God during through tough moments?
Dealing with grief?
Need to speak with someone about grief? Talk to a mentor

 How would YOU describe your life?

Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. If stress dominates your life, you could be looking to move passed those situations. It’s hard to cope with stress when you can’t put the past behind you. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Are you ready to choose a different path?

Jesus came, and died, and rose again to wipe the slate clean. He was scourged, tormented, and finally nailed on the cross for humankind’s sins – this was all part of God’s plan to bring you and I back into relationship with him. God wants to be a part of your life … in fact, not just a part of your life, but wants you to live in full fellowship with Him. Is this the life for you?

God loves you and created you to know Him personally. He longs for you to have the kind of full life you were always meant to have. So why do people not experience this kind of life? People are lost and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love. Because of our sins, we justly deserve judgement. But God provided his Son, Jesus Christ, as the only provision for our sin. He died in our place, then he rose from the dead.

We must individually trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally, receive forgiveness for our sins, and experience His love: “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)

We trust God through faith. You can trust Christ right now by faith through prayer! (Prayer is just talking with God.) God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?

If you have a question first, click here.

At some point in his life, Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton felt satisfied with his career accomplishments. It wasn’t until he faced death twice that he began to wrestle with the true purpose for his life. There is no doubt that he has faced his own ups and downs; yet, when asked about what he prays about, Scott discussed having a grateful heart. Despite being drained physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, in his heart, all he wanted to do is say: thank you. Even still, a heartfelt conversation with a nurse opened his eyes to the true meaning of being a Father.

Scott’s outlook on his life surpasses human rationality. Despite the storms he has weathered, he still says that “the only true disability in life is a bad attitude.” He had so much to lose; and yet, even more to give.

Take the next step:

“For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love”. (Psalm 59:16b-17, NLT)

I was cleaning my house getting it ready for company when the phone rang. The voice on the phone went straight to the point. “Hello, this is Walmart and your son has been arrested for shoplifting.” My whole world came to a standstill.  I thought that the person on the phone had to be joking.  He assured me that he wasn’t.

There a lot of things that I imagined my son might do someday but this was not definitely one of them.  As a mom I had worked diligently to point out to my children the importance of being honest.  There were so many times when I would get out to my car and realize that there was a sack of potatoes in the bottom of the cart that I had not paid for and I would drag all my children back into the store so that I could pay for it.  I thought for sure that doing this would guarantee that my children would do the same.  Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. (And when I think about it I’m glad it doesn’t work that way because there have been plenty of times when I would not like them to emulate something I’ve done.)

The pain of this time in our family’s life was excruciating, the shame unbearable.  We felt so alone. What do you do with a son who is 17 and is arrested for shoplifting? I wanted to tell him he was grounded for the rest of his life!  Couldn’t he see how much pain and heartache he was causing us?  My mind told me that this was not my fault – I had shown him the truth growing up – but my heart was screaming just the opposite.   I thought I must be a terrible mom, completely inadequate for the job. Why did God give me these children?  It was such a lonely, isolating time.

We had no idea what to do, how to handle this situation.  We never thought we would be in this position.  The emptiness drove us to our knees.  We sought God’s wisdom and He gave us clear direction.

God was with us every step of that difficult journey.  We didn’t see it at the time, but when I took some time to look back and reflect on the path we had traveled and I was amazed at what I saw.

Our son had been making a series of bad choices that culminated in him getting arrested and as I looked back over each one of those decisions I saw God’s hand of discipline in his life.  Where we thought we were alone, God had been right there beside us adding his discipline to ours, partnering with us.

My son threw a party when we were out of town and that same week the transmission went out on his car. When we grounded him for two weeks because of a bad choice, he contracted Mono and was in bed for two solid weeks!  When he chose to drive recklessly, he was pulled over and given a ticket.  And when he shoplifted, that very same week he had his stereo stolen out of his car.

As I looked back over the ways God had brought discipline into my son’s life I was reminded of the verse in Proverbs 3:12 that says, “For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.” When I pointed out this verse to my son, he said, “Would He just stop loving me so much?”

It’s funny how that is – we want God’s love when it’s comfortable and cozy and safe but when it causes us to grow and pushes us beyond our comfort zone then we’re not so thrilled with the idea.  But praise God He doesn’t always give us what we want!

God is with you when you’re dealing with angry and unlovely teenagers.  God is with you when the way seems unclear and your heart is heavy.  God is with you when the weight of the world seems like more than you can bear.  He is with you!

Father, You know what I am dealing with today.  Thank you for being with me through all of it.  Be near me today I pray.  Amen.

Question: How do you take comfort that God is with you through everything?

“I can never escape from your Spirit!  I can never get away from Your presence!  If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there.  If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” (Psalm 139:7-10, NLT)

I hate it when I have to return things. I’m one of those people that never keeps good track of their receipts.  So if I have to return anything it becomes a huge chore!  And of course, I complicate matters by never seeming to have the receipt and the item I need to return with me at the same time.

But I have to say it is a nice thing to be able to return something  – if I’ve bought something I couldn’t afford or if somehow the thing I purchased doesn’t work correctly.  Returns come in handy when you change your mind.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could return the things in life that we don’t want to face?  What if we could take back a poor decision and exchange it for a better one?  What if we could return a difficult relationship?   What if there was a checkout counter that would allow us to trade in a difficult experience for an easier one?

Sometimes I think we wish we could do this with God too.  We want his love but would prefer to return His justice back to the shelf.  We want his forgiveness but struggle with His righteousness.  We want to tell Him what we want Him to do; we don’t want Him to tell us what we should do.

A friend of mine had a horrible thing happen to her son.  It left her reeling with pain and anger.  How could God allow this to happen to her innocent child?  She felt betrayed by her God and the anger grew and festered within her until it be became a raging inferno.  And she told God she was done!   She wanted to return her salvation; she didn’t want it any more.  She was checking out of this Christianity thing.  So she set her Bible on the shelf and wanted nothing more to do with God.

But the interesting thing was that God did not accept her return.  He refused to take back His salvation from her.  She told Him multiple times to get away from her.  When she was on her daily walks she would cuss and swear and say horrible things to Him but He refused to leave her.   This is how she described it, “He was just there.  It was a quiet presence, not a condemning one.  No matter what I did or said to Him (and I said some pretty horrible things) He would not leave me alone!”

As she told me her story Psalm 139:7-10 (NLT) came to my mind, “ I can never escape from your Spirit!  I can never get away from Your presence!  If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there.  If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.”

His unending presence slowly began to melt the ice around her heart. 

As a lover pursues the one he loves so God drew her gently back to Himself.  And then one day it happened!  She picked up her Bible, that had sat dormant on the shelf, dusted it off and began to discover a whole new God, a God she realized she had never really known.  What was her greatest disappointment led her to her greatest discovery – GOD.

Dear God, Thank you that Your promises have no expiration date and that Your salvation cannot be returned.  Thank you for being there when things are bad and all I can do is yell at You in my pain and hurt.  In those dark days help me to see You as You really are.  Don’t let me dwell in those dark places.  Bring me into the light of Your love.  Amen.

Question: Do you believe God can use our greatest disappointment as our greatest opportunity?

Take the next step:
Is God just? Take this online lesson
Where does love meet justice?
Share the love of Christ. Take the 35-Day Challenge.

I have questions for God, do you?  Here are some of mine . . .

 God, did you see…when a broken-hearted couple lost their three year old son to cancer and just 10 short years later were sitting in that same funeral home grieving the loss of another son?

“When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. . .  Then Jesus wept.”  (John 11:33,35)

Lord, were you listening…when a young girl lost her innocence and cried herself to sleep night after night?

‘I keep track of all your sorrows.  I have collected all your tears in my bottle and I have recorded each one in my book.’”  (Psalm 56:8)

God, do you see…the mother who has run out of options and doesn’t know where to turn?  She’s exhausted, tapped out, and emotionally spent – her child has completely drained her.

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’”   (Matthew 11:28-29)

Lord, where were you…when a family watched everything they owned burn to the ground?

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.  There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.’”  (John 14:1-3)

Where were you, Jesus…when a loving wife and mother lost her life to an insatiable disease, and a young dad was left to pick up the pieces and care for his two little daughters?

“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God sees our sorrow, He knows every tear we’ve cried and every prayer we’ve prayed. Isaiah, the prophet says this about God who became flesh and dwelt among us (Jesus).

There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.

He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!

But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.

                       (Isaiah 53:2-5)

God understands our pain, He hears our questions in times of great need and He answers! His greatest answer to our questions came in the person of Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God offers you a free gift – you cannot earn it, you are not born into the right family to receive it.  Each individual must accept God’s free gift for themselves. Each one of us has sinned and gone our own way and our just payment is eternal death.  But God sent His Son Jesus to take our punishment and die in our place!  When we acknowledge that we are a sinner and invite Christ to come into our lives and save us from our sins, we become one of His children and carry the promise of spending eternity with Him in our hearts.

If you have never accepted this free gift, I urge you not to wait.  He stands ready and waiting to come into your life and make you NEW!  Learn more about how to accept Jesus here.

Question: What are your questions for God?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

On a trip to China, I rode past Tiananmen Square in a bus full of Westerners. We tried to recollect the causes and consequences of the revolt. Our knowledge of history was embarrassing. One gave one date; another gave a different one. One person remembered a certain death toll; someone else disagreed. All this time our translator remained silent.

Finally one of us asked her, “Do you remember anything about the Tiananmen Square revolt?”

Her answer was solemn. “Yes, I was a part of it.”

We quickly grew quiet as she gave firsthand recollections of the bloodshed and oppression. We listened, because she’d been there.

We who follow Christ do so for the same reason. He’s been there . . .

He’s been to Bethlehem, wearing barn rags and hearing sheep crunch. Suckling milk and shivering against the cold. All of divinity content to cocoon itself in an eight-pound body and to sleep on a cow’s supper. Millions who face the chill of empty pockets or the fears of sudden change turn to Christ. Why?

Because he’s been there.

He’s been to Nazareth, where he made deadlines and paid bills; to Galilee, where he recruited direct reports and separated fighters; to Jerusalem, where he stared down critics and stood up against cynics.

We have our Nazareths as well—demands and due dates. Jesus wasn’t the last to build a team; accusers didn’t disappear with Jerusalem’s temple. Why seek Jesus’s help with your challenges? Because he’s been there. To Nazareth, to Galilee, to Jerusalem.

But most of all, he’s been to the grave. Not as a visitor, but as a corpse. Buried amidst the cadavers. Numbered among the dead. Heart silent and lungs vacant. Body wrapped and grave sealed. The cemetery. He’s been buried there.

You haven’t yet. But you will be. And since you will, don’t you need someone who knows the way out?

From 3:16, The Numbers of Hope
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, Inc, 2007) Max Lucado
Used by permission

Question: Where can you see how Jesus faced similar difficulties to the ones you’re facing in your life now?

“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” Psalm 4:1, NASB

Lord, we’re desperate for you. We’re bunched up in confusion, moving by impulse and fear, flitting here and there like a frenzied flock caught in the wilderness of the far country.
We are here! We are here! And we know you hear. You’ve heard us before; you’ve swept in and saved us from our hopeless paralysis.

Do it again, O, Holy One; how long must we wait?

And we hear you say, “Yes, how long? How long must I wait while you wear my grace and peace like a cheap cloak from a secondhand store?”

Oh God, I hear your heart. You set me apart; yet, I joined the crowd – like birds of a feather.
From now on, Abba, when the swirl and twirl shoves at me, instead of taking to panicked wings; I’ll let you quiet my soul.

“I am ready now; I am willing now to be swept under the safety of your wings, as a hen gathers her chicks.” (Matthew 23:37, NKJV)

Question: Does this prayer sound like one you’ve prayed recently? What about sometime in the past?