From Lisa to Elisabeth--Another Year of Grace

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From Lisa to Elisabeth--Another Year of Grace

I was…am a dictionary reader. Dictionaries are splendid things and we had a marvelously fat one when I was little. It was huge, probably 5 or 6 inches thick, and contained all sorts of extra tidbits of knowledge, but the part I liked best was the section on names and their meanings. Eagerly I looked up “Lisa” and discovered my name was taken from “Elisabeth,” meaning “consecrated to God.” Well, I had to look that word up and discovered “consecrated” meant “dedicated or set aside for God.” I hoped that one day my life would belong to God and I would truly become “Elisabeth.”

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The Lord Has Not Forsaken You

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The Lord Has Not Forsaken You

It’s the way of things—to trust God because He is so very faithful and loving and kind. Such an obvious truth, and yet there’s a reason that verse has been underlined and highlighted and prayed through and cried over in my Bible. Sometimes it’s just plain hard to trust the Lord—even when we know Him, really know Him; even when we have trusted Him in the past; even when we believe His Word and His promises. Even then, there are times when every believer comes face to face with these truths and cries out like the desperate father in Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

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When a New Year Means More of the Same

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When a New Year Means More of the Same

Trials have a purpose. They produce a perfected faith and a completed character. You know this; I know this. The difficulty comes in staying still while God does His work in us with that trial. So, the first thing we need to consider is just how do we persevere under trial? Keep reading for some ways to apply these words to “persevere under trial.”

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Advent Meditations: The Wonders of His Love

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Advent Meditations: The Wonders of His Love

The final advent candle of Christmas represents love. How fitting to spend the last few days before Christmas thinking on “the wonders of His love” as the hymn, “Joy to the World” puts it. I think most people get the fact that Jesus’ birth is a huge proclamation of God’s love. We’re told this in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” God loved the world, and specifically the people that He created, so He gave His Son, His only Son, as a sacrifice offered up in substitution for our sins.

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Advent Meditations: Tidings of Great Joy for You

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Advent Meditations: Tidings of Great Joy for You

You might be struggling for joy because of trying circumstances and great sorrows, yet joy is possible. Good news leads to great joy when we remember the hope and exhilaration that forgiveness of all our sins, fellowship with the Eternal God, and the hope of heaven can bring. Joy isn’t out of reach. Joy just needs to be uncovered so it can be recovered. 

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Advent Meditations: Preparing for Jesus

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Advent Meditations: Preparing for Jesus

Having our hearts prepare Him room means doing special things to honor Jesus. Your special offering might be setting aside an evening for quiet worship, even when you have a pile of laundry waiting for you. We do things differently when we have special guests with us, so why shouldn’t we try doing things differently for the Christmas season and prepare Him room?

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Advent Meditations: Hope for Hopeless Hearts

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Advent Meditations: Hope for Hopeless Hearts

The hope given to us because of that little baby born in Bethlehem draws our eyes away from the tinsel and turkey, gifts and gatherings to the fulfilled promise of a Savior who rescues us from despair, isolation, and the hopelessness of sin.

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Choosing to Trust the Lord in Spite of Our Circumstances

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Choosing to Trust the Lord in Spite of Our Circumstances

Waiting is hard. Waiting in faith is even harder. Waiting in faith like Abraham does in Romans 4:18-21 is miraculous! And yet, if Abraham trusted the Lord in such a stellar manner, then there’s hope for you and me.

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Our Great Physician Will Never Harm Us

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Our Great Physician Will Never Harm Us

You might be feeling that your circumstances are harming you in some way, that they are so hurtful you feel you will never recover, yet no matter what your circumstances, the promises of God’s Word still hold true. He will not allow your situation to harm you. Your circumstances may hurt; they may be painfully difficult to endure, but they are intended for your good.

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