Accepting the invitation extended in the gospel of Christ allows a person to receive a new identity: that of God’s beloved child (John 1:12). After accepting God’s invitation to salvation, however, we must respond to His continual invitation to intimacy, to return, and to rest. 

This invitation to experience more of Him is true for a new Christian or one who has walked with Him for decades. 

“And since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings…” Hebrews 10:21-22a (NIV)

I’m old enough to remember singing hymns in church every Sunday. One I have strong memories of is Fanny Crosby’s Blessed Assurance. We sang it at many Wednesday-night suppers at the Baptist church of my childhood. 

Regardless of how you feel about Halloween, for many people it marks a chance to put on a costume and engage the world in ways they might not ordinarily. People enjoy the opportunity to express their personality in costumes. Masks and disguises play a key role in this annual celebration.

How weary are you right about now? As we enter the home stretch of the year, there are busy days ahead. For many, the upcoming holidays can be among the least restful times of the entire year. We plan, we purchase, we entertain, we worry about making memories and not disappointing others. It can be overwhelming.

I recently returned from the Sonoran Desert, the only place in the world where you can find the iconic saguaro cactus (pronounced suh-waa-row). If you are picturing the kind of tall cactus with arms you see in a Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoon, you are on the right track.

The landscape of this desert is breathtaking, and these cacti are a large part of that beauty. 

Do you know the frustration of an unmet goal? What about the frustration of thwarted plans?

My seventeen-year-old son and I have been a wonderful road trip out west recently. We drove from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Tucson, Arizona, over several days. Not for the first time, I was driving with family around this part of the world during a government shut down