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We should all be expecting God to come into our circumstances, but we shouldn’t be expecting Him to come in a particular way. The Bible, all the way through shares story upon story where God shows up in a most unexpected and often unnerving way. He’s in a burning bush; He’s in a dream; He makes a donkey talk; He allows a person’s possessions and family to be swept away; He’s in a whisper; He’s in a jar of oil. In the New Testament, I think, Jesus must take great delight in interacting with each person, each request, each question …

Sometime ago I was laying on my bed thinking about my struggles with a particular relationship. I felt finished, done, wiped-out. I kept telling myself I should try harder and love them more. But I knew I couldn’t. I had gone as far as I could go. I didn’t have anything more in me to give. But still, I kept thinking, “Robbi, you are supposed to try harder and love more.” I was wrestling with my feelings and thought – “I can’t. I can’t. I don’t have any more love and patience and effort in me.” Then it hit me. …

Do you ever hear the words “sin” or “righteousness” and struggle with them? Sometimes, I do. These words are used throughout the Bible. Even though I’m a Christian, occasionally I balk at these words. It seems to me that there are two reasons for this. The first one is that our culture in America is in love, (pronounced looooove) with tolerance. Whether it’s the majority (or the loud minority), I’m not sure. But there are loud voices that want us to believe every person should be allowed to do whatever feels right to them. No Stepping on Toes Moral standards …

Reading in my Building Faith with Bible Pathway under the introduction to Ezekiel, I come upon this sentence – “After Jerusalem’s fall (in 586 B.C.,) Ezekiel began a message of hope, consolation, and reconstruction.” Reconstruction. That is what God does with us. It’s not exactly a beautiful word, like metamorphosis. Reconstruction is a rough word. You tear down all that isn’t right and healthy and solid in a building. You go all the way back to the foundation and the basics if necessary. You have to remove and haul off the debris. And all this before you can even begin …

I have a family member/friend who struggles often with defensiveness. I try to give of myself and work to find compromises between our differences, but she often attributes wrong motives to me. If I try to ask something of her, no matter how I ask it, or share my feelings, she gets all bristly and thinks I’m out to “get her.”  She has no understanding of how much I work at reaching out to her and loving her. It hurts. I think God must feel that way with us. He loves us and wants to share Himself with us. He …