Hard Things of Faith

It is one thing to believe in God, it is another thing altogether to know who God is.  Learning about the character of God has the potential to be a game-changer in our everyday life.  We are living in a time of great division and darkness that many people have never seen before.  The only thing of value that I have to share is my faith and my ever-growing understanding of who God is.  I hope in reading this and through the pages of scripture, you will find the One that is faithful and true.  He is my solid ground when the world around me seems to be falling apart.    A few months back, I was talking to a family member that had to leave her home church and she mentioned that she missed going to Bible study.  I was so excited that she wanted to be studying God’s word, I offered to help since she didn’t have a new church home yet.  When I asked her where she wanted to start, she said, “Genesis.”  Wel...

       Friends,  As things get darker and harder it is tempting to be consumed with what is happening and how we feel about it.  Whether you express how you feel publicly or keep it to your inner circle, it has been hard to watch what has been happening in our country and around the world.  It doesn't matter if you are like me and have a lot of emotion or you are the person who isn’t about the feelings, this is tough.     We are all so over Covid-19.  We are over having to wear the mask. (The division over the masks is a subject in and of itself!)  To say that we are weary of the social distancing would be a gross understatement.  As if this isn’t enough, we have had a presidential election that has shown our weakened state to every enemy we have. We have a racial division in our country with wounds so deep, I am not sure we will ever heal this side of Heaven.  Depression, abuse, addiction, these are things that ...

  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all the things have become new.        A few months ago I woke up and before my feet even hit the floor, I was struggling with sinful thoughts.  I knew immediately that I need to go to the Lord in prayer and then get into scripture.  The Lord was faithful to meet me where I was and help me in my struggle.   Being so taken with the Lord’s willingness to meet me where I was that morning and help me, I shared this with a dear Sister-in Christ.  Her immediate response was “What do you mean you woke up with sinful thoughts.  You are a Christian, you shouldn’t struggle with sin like that.”  Then she recited the above scripture to me. I was definitely taken aback by her statement.    Now you must understand that this woman is a dear friend of mine who loves the Lord.  She had no idea that she was helpi...

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...