I suppose it’s more difficult to believe that Jesus was fully man than it is to accept He is fully God. We read about the miracles He performed, we know He had knowledge that only God could have, and we have faith in the fact of His resurrection from the dead. Believing He is truly God isn’t a problem.

More than a decade has passed since my church family experienced one of the hardest years in the life of our body. In the course of a few months, we lost an eight-year-old to Cystic Fibrosis and a seventeen-year-old to cancer. A man in his early forties passed away of a sudden heart attack on the last night of a ten-day tour of Israel with thirty-five other members of our church, including his wife and daughter. And before the year ended, we buried a nineteen-year-old from alcohol poisoning.

We prayed a lot during that year. We held multiple prayer vigils at our church; we gathered with family members at the hospital. My husband and other pastors drove hours to be with grieving families. We asked God for miracles; after all, the God we knew was fully capable of intervening in these events. With a simple change of His will, much suffering could have been avoided. And from our perspective, who knows how much our faith might have grown if He answered according to our will?

It was a difficult year.

I remember hearing the mother of the seventeen-year-old speak about her experiences and the many ways her relationship with God changed during the time they battled the rare cancer that was stealing her daughter’s life. So many miracles happened along the way. Prayers were answered in specific ways that could only have come from God’s hand. She kept a record of their journey, documenting the ways God was answering our pleas for this young girl’s life. She described her emotions when she realized that her precious child would not be healed on this side of an earthly grave. I’m paraphrasing, but essentially, she expressed it this way.

“Each time God answered a prayer, it was like rolling a ball toward the edge of a drop off, and every single time, it came back. After so many answers, I never expected the ball not to come back. Suddenly, it didn’t.”

Like many others who have experienced similar circumstances, the final answer of “no” deeply challenged this sweet sister’s faith. For a very long time, she couldn’t pray, couldn’t worship. I believe she would tell us she truly felt God had let her down.

What do we do when our faith is shaken, when we feel like God didn’t come through for us? How do we find our footing again on solid ground and restore our confidence in a God who says He loves us, but fails to answer our prayers in the way we think He should? How do we learn to trust God when He allows such pain and suffering into our lives?

Here are four things we can do to rebuild our trust in God when we feel like He let us down.

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The mission is right in front of us. It’s before us, behind us, and around us, as we walk through this life as disciples of Jesus ourselves. There might be a harvest overseas, and we quite possibly will have opportunities to labor in that field for a brief time. The real harvest, however – the field that God has planted you in – is right in front of you.

Foster parents care for children who may or may not be orphans. Foster care is designed to be temporary, a time of separation so that the parent(s) can get needed help. The goal is always for a family to be reunited, but in many cases foster children are eventually adopted. I believe what Scripture teaches about widows and orphans extends to families who find themselves in the foster system.

Leviticus is the third book of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, written by Moses. Together, they tell the story of the nation of Israel, the chosen people through whom the Savior would come. It’s an often-overlooked book, relegated as “not relevant” to those of us who live under the New Covenant of Christ’s blood. But by neglecting to read and study it, we are missing out on a great deal of insight into the character and nature of God.

Many a devoted follower of Christ has been derailed in their goal of “reading through Scripture” by the book of Leviticus. My husband says, “It’s when I get to the part about ‘rashes’ that I tend to move on to another part of the Bible!” As Gentiles, we are far removed from the intricate details of animal sacrifices that provided a way for God to dwell among His people before Christ came. Yet this is not a reason to avoid Leviticus.

Here are five reasons we ought to read and appreciate this difficult book as a regular part of our Bible study.

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We are responsible to cultivate and keep a “noble and good heart” so that the Word of God continues to bear fruit pleasing to God. Here are twenty ways that Scripture addresses our heart and shows us what we can do practically in submission to the Holy Spirit’s work in us.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a - “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

Look up the word “love” in any secular dictionary and you’ll most likely find the definitions focus on words like attraction, affection, or feeling. These words are ambiguous and indefinable. At best, this kind of love may last for a few years. Attraction is frequently based on superficial traits; affection quickly fades when it’s not reciprocated, and feelings are the most uncertain and changeable human trait of all!

In contrast, the biblical definition is much deeper. Comparing the two is startling, like hanging a paint-by-number by a three-year-old next to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Scripture speaks much about love; the word is used 484 times in the NASB. In the Bible, love is practical and tangible. It’s made up of actions and words inspired by the will rather than some vague feeling that comes and goes on a whim.

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Selah is a mystery that may only be solved when we are able to ask the psalmists personally. Until then, we can make educated guesses on the exact meaning of this ancient Hebrew word. Selah is found seventy-one times in the Psalms, and three times in chapter three of Habakkuk, which also happens to be a prayer written “for the choir director, on stringed instruments.”

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John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

As a teenager growing up in a very conservative, independent, Baptist church, I was often challenged to make a commitment at the end of the year to read my Bible through. I knew the importance of God’s Word, and I was a believer, so every year I would make this commitment in my heart. Like many people reading this article, I started out with enthusiasm. As a person who loves to “check off the boxes,” my legalistic soul relished each time I read the portion of Scripture assigned to the day and could affirm my faithfulness to God by that little red check mark.

Sadly, around the time I got to Leviticus and Numbers, my enthusiasm waned and inevitably my reading would grow more and more sporadic. Feeling like I could never “catch up,” I often abandoned it entirely. After all, if I couldn’t do it perfectly, why bother?

That’s why this article may take a different turn than you expect. I still love to check off the boxes, and I still firmly believe that every Christ-follower ought to be spending time in God’s Word daily. But unless we get beyond the legalistic formula and “Bible-reading plans,” it won’t last until Spring. The real, lasting, and effective key to regular reading and studying of God’s Word comes from understanding what a treasure it is, and the power it has on our lives.

At the end of this article, I will share a few practical tips, but more importantly I want to encourage you with the reasons why and how we must approach our Bibles. After all, as John reminds us, it is the very Word of God – Jesus revealed to us.

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History tells us that when a nation abandons its moral and religious heritage, it quickly moves from a post-Christian culture to an anti-Christian culture. Spiritual warfare is real, and our enemy, the devil, would like nothing better than to see all Christian influences crushed in every part of the world. Scripture tells us this will happen (read the book of Revelation). In the last days, the unbelieving world will literally fight against God and attempt to kill all who follow Him.

There are many places in the world where Christians have to meet secretly, where people who come to salvation in Christ risk losing their family connections, their livelihoods, and even their lives. Thankfully, there are still places where we can openly worship God, but our society is becoming more and more intolerant of Christian beliefs.

How can we remain faithful in a post-Christian culture? What wisdom does Scripture offer? What should we expect, and how can we prepare? 

Peter wrote his first epistle in just such an environment. In his commentary, John MacArthur notes that “the dark clouds of the first great outbreak of official persecution, instigated by the insane Emperor Nero, were already gathering on the horizon. Nero pinned the blame [for the great fire of AD 64 in Rome] on Christians, whom he already perceived as enemies of Rome because they would worship none but Christ.”

Peter and Paul were both martyred during Nero’s persecution, but not before Peter wrote his encouraging letter to the Christ-followers scattered across the known world. MacArthur aptly says, “throughout the centuries, beleaguered Christians have benefited from the apostle’s wise counsel and gentle, encouraging words of comfort.”

I encourage you to read the entire letter in one sitting, considering yourself to also be an “alien” or “stranger” as Peter addresses the recipients. The Greek word is parepidēmos, meaning sojourner, or pilgrim – one who is residing in a country not their own. As Christ-followers, we are not home yet; we hold our citizenship in heaven (Philippians 3:20) and must be faithful to walk as ambassadors of our true King (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Here are five principles Peter gives us to live by, as we strive to follow Christ in a post-Christian culture.

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“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17).

Almost six years ago my husband informed the elders of our church that he was stepping down as lead pastor after sixteen years of fruitful ministry. He was leaving a vibrant, spiritually healthy congregation of people he loved, a godly, supportive, and experienced staff and pastoral team, a nicely equipped facility and campus, and a generous salary. We were at the stage of life when most people are starting to think about slowing down a bit and coasting toward retirement. I was ready to leave my part-time job and enjoy being a wife and grandmother, assuming that my husband would continue to bring in a comfortable income to support us both. I soon realized God had a sense of humor, and a different plan!

The morning after he preached his last sermon, we sat at the kitchen table and contemplated what might be next. My first thought was, “how are we going to pay the bills?” but as God began to unfold the desires of my husband’s heart, we soon realized He was taking us on a completely new journey. Within a few months those desires had taken root and given birth to a new ministry.

How does one go about launching a new ministry? While it’s never as simple as it sounds, and God’s plans for us are distinctive and unique, Scripture gives us many foundational principles to build on as we follow God on a new adventure. We can find these principles as we observe the actions taken by his faithful followers who were called into special places of service and ministry – people like Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Paul, and Jesus’ own disciples. Here are just five things to consider as you launch your new ministry.

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Have you ever had an encounter with an angel? Perhaps I should rephrase that: Have you ever been aware of an encounter with an angel?

As a little girl, I often asked God to allow me to see His angels. I would look up during church services, hoping to see an angel peering at our attempts to worship God, and often wondered what they thought of us. These powerful, supernatural, created beings stand in the presence of God, seeing Him in all His holiness and glory. It occurs to me that our worship might appear irreverent or lacking an appreciation for who God really is, from their point of view.

In case you’re wondering, I never did get a glimpse. I still ask God, sometimes.

1 Peter 1:12 reminds us that the gospel is a mystery to angels. When the angel, Lucifer, fell from heaven (the prophecies of Isaiah describe this event in Isaiah 14), it is said that he took one-third of the angels with him in rebellion. This idea comes from Revelation 12:3-4, in which the dragon’s tail sweeps one-third of the stars of heaven and throws them to the earth. Jesus told His disciples He “was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning” (Luke 10:18); in context He declares His disciples have authority over all the power of the enemy – evil spirits described as serpents and scorpions. The fallen angels were not offered redemption; therefore, the gospel is a mystery into which they long to look.

This teaching leads us to acknowledge that there are two kinds of angels: fallen angels, who became the evil spirits subject to their leader, Satan, and those angels who remained faithful and loyal to God and serve at His pleasure from heaven. These faithful servants of God are the topic of this article.

How Are Angels Different from Humans?

Like humans, angels are created beings (Colossians 1:16), but they are eternal. They do not marry (Mark 12:25). Scripture only names three angels (Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer) – all male, but many references to angels do not indicate whether they are male or female. They can move from heaven to earth as spirit beings, and appear often in human form, yet are recognizable as supernatural beings with great power.

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“God’s requirements have not altered, but we are not the ones to meet them. Praise God, He is the Lawgiver on the Throne, and He is the Lawkeeper in my heart. He who gave the Law, Himself keeps it.” -Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life

The discussion of “law vs. grace” is a common one among Bible-believing Christ followers. For some reason, we have trouble harmonizing what feels to us like two conflicting ideas. Either Christianity is all about grace, or it’s all about law. The truth is, like many “God-sized” concepts in Scripture, both are integral parts of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Is the Law something relegated to “Old Testament” days, or does it have meaning for us today? What is the Law, and what was (or is) its purpose?

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