Hard Things of Faith

Jesus. There are so many facets of Jesus, it would take a lifetime to unpack them all.  Here are some of the ways that we know him though. He is the Son of God, the Bridegroom, Savior,  our Advocate, our High Priest.  We know him as the Author and Perfecter of our faith.  The thing I hear more than anything about Jesus is that he is love.  The part people sometimes do not understand is just how sacrificial his love is.  We should know how costly this sacrificial love is.  It is easy to say, "Jesus died for you", but how many people really know what that means and why that was necessary?  This certainly is not going to be one of those "feel good" posts that you are going to share as a way of encouraging others.  This is the smallest glimpse of the hard truth of sacrifice and why it was needed.  We will never understand the love of Christ until we understand the sacrifice of Christ.  Will you step back with me into the Old Testament a...

I have been pretty quiet as the world has navigated some difficult things.  Mostly though I have been quiet because that is what I have felt the Lord tell me to do.  If you know me at all, you know that I was there before the Lord saying “ But Lord!  Hard Things of Faith!  We are living through some of the hardest things some people have ever seen and you want me to be quiet?!?”   When Coivid-19 broke out in the United States, a woman I know sent me a message.   She sent me a message and the gist if it was “Rest”.  She told me she was praying for me and then told me specifically what she was praying for me. That is the mark of someone who has really been praying for you, they tell you what they are praying for.  She gave me the scripture verse and then told me to rest.  As I have watched the world fall out over a virus and then my homeland fall out over racism, I have been socially quiet. I...

They call me “Philly” because they don’t really know what it means.  They don’t know that I was taught to fight first.  My natural bent is to come out verbally swinging and ask questions later.  I was taught to handle things in a way that produces the desired outcome, and sometimes that goes against what society thinks is acceptable.  “There is something about Upper Darby.  It gets under your skin.   It assaults you by refusing to coddle you-  then it stays with you for life”.    Maria Panaitis When I read this quote for the first time, I was left stunned.  This was it.  This is the place that helped shape who I am today. Upper Darby is a part of Delaware County, Delco for short. A suburb of Philadelphia.  It’s not in the streets of Philly but we have a grit unto our own. It’s not everyone from there, but there are a good number of us who have the same thought ...

My bible study left me without words tonight.  1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 is a well-quoted verse of scripture. So often though we can quote this verse and have very little understanding of what it means or what Love really looks like.  How many times have we said "I love you", be it to a friend, family member or spouse and then said something harsh or did something ugly? How many times have we seen Love distorted by sin? I am challenged by these words. I am left undone at the thought of how I love and how I am loved.  Will you be left undone as well? Love is Patient : Even when you feel like forcefully expressing yourself.  Love bears pain, or trials without complaint showing forbearance under provocation or strain and is steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity. Love is Kind : Even when you want to retaliate physically or tear down another with your words.  Love is sympathetic, considerate, gentle and agreeable. Love is not Arrog...

How many times have you heard it said that people like "that" are going to Hell as they point at you? Who has said that there is no place in the Kingdom of Heaven for a person like you?  This doesn't phase you because you are seemingly content with your position in Hell.  Somewhere along the line, someone told you that Hell is going to be a great big party of misfits where you will fit right in. They lied. You have no need to debate faith and religion because you live in darkness, far from anything heavenly or divine.  Most likely, you don’t care to think about such things.  You believe the lie that you are a horrible person or at the very least, beyond the reach of anything Holy. I can imagine how dark your thoughts are.  Your mind is Satan’s playground and you want to indulge yourself in fantasies only he can conjure. He can show you things that normal people would be disgusted by.  You’re not normal though; these things don’t disgust y...

I have a childhood friend who prayed his salvation prayer several years ago and today he has no more relationship with Christ than before he said his prayer.  I desperately want to believe that my friend knows Christ, but from his own lips, he does not.  He has been gracious in allowing me to share his story. He and I are part of a group of friends that have ebbed and flowed since we were kids.  A few years ago, our group of friends came back together and it quickly became evident that several of us had come to know Christ.  The natural thing was to share our faith with our friends. Our testimonies were well received. Our walk with Christ; well respected. After spending time with those of us walking with Christ this friend was hungry to know more of what we had found. He has known us for most of our lives and could see changes for the good and wanted to know more. We were happy to share all the Lord had done and was still doing in...

“And Hallelujah, Grace like rain falls down on me” The first time I heard these lyrics, there was a three-fold reaction, heartbreak, surrender, and belief.  To be honest, I couldn’t even tell you which one came first.  It was the moment I become acutely aware of my sinful nature, the Lord’s love, and God’s willingness to show me the grace I did not deserve.  Somewhere there had to be knowledge of these things when I gave my life to the Lord, but the understanding of these things became so much more clear when I heard this song.  I have struggled most of my Christian walk to fall in line with the rest of the Body of Christ.  There was always this thought that I could never be as “good” as them.  I didn’t realize that I had been trying to live down a reputation that haunted me for years.  I wanted so badly to be “good” and have a reputation that was fitting of a good Christian woman.  The thought was, to fit in wit...

We are 1 in 4 women.  We are in your churches, we are in your bible studies and we are in your small groups.  There is nothing from the outside that would make you think abortion is our story.  That is… until it’s too late.  There are so many misconceptions about the woman who chose to terminate a pregnancy and why we have done it.  The things I have heard are horrendous.  Some people think that abortion is just a form of birth control, recently I heard it said that it is a matter of convenience. These are not even the most heinous things I have heard.  The name-calling and the judgment has been too much for me to sit with and not say anything about.  Some people are happy to lump us all into a stereotype that somehow makes us sound like we are less of a human being or unworthy of the love of Christ.   Every one of us has a story.  I wish I could share with you some of these horrific things I have heard, but these st...