One More For JC

God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  (1 Corinthians 10:13) This is a verse that is so easy to believe when life is going well.  But how much harder is it to believe when the trials are coming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?  When I think back to the periods of my life when I faced the toughest battles, I remember doubting God and questioning if and when He would ever turn my life around for the better.  I'm not proud to admit it, but it's the truth.  This past Monday a friend of mine asked me the following question in between innings of a softball game:  "If you could ask God one question, what would it be?"  My response was the following: "Why all the years of pain and suffering?"  The rest of the game I couldn't help but think about all the "lost" years of my life and it really got me down.  I drove...

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. (Galatians 2:20) This is one of my favorite verses from the bible and utilized in one of my favorite songs, "Crucified with Christ" by Phillips, Craig, & Dean:  "For I've been crucified with Christ, and yet I live.  Not I, but Christ that lives within me.  His cross will never ask for more than I can give.  For it's not my cross but his." I try to meditate on these words daily, and draw strength from them in times of sorrow and despair.  If we open our hearts to Christ, he will come in.  He will take away that sorrow, and will not test us more than we can bear.  The hardest step is yielding our hearts.  He is forever waiting for us to do just that.

Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us? Who will know? (Isaiah 29:15) How many times in our lives have we fooled ourselves with this lie, "Who can see me? Who will know?"  I've fallen prey to that foolish logic one time too many in my life already. In all honesty, Christ's perfect life is not easy to imitate.  The road he walked is usually too difficult for my mortal body to want to follow.  But that's no excuse for laziness.  Many times when I fall into sin or temptation it's because I've strayed from God's word. The main reason I created this site was twofold: 1) To share my love for Christ with others and 2) To overcome my resistance to read the bible. For most of my life, reading the bible has been as painful as pulling teeth.  With this site, I'm now forced to open the bible at least once a week (outside of church) and type out all the verses fo...