Living Unfiltered for God

My wife and I recently completed a “40 Day Prayer Challenge” that we were participating in with some good friends of ours. There were numerous things that happened over that time – many that could be considered miracles – to and through, each and every one of us. There are probably a dozen stories that could be written about. Right now, though, I’d like to spend a couple of minutes sharing about a concept that was mentioned late in the study ( Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson), that we were using as a guide for the challenge. Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to lo...

Over the last few weeks, our church has been doing a sermon series called "Wonder". It has been especially impactful to me, during this season of Advent, to "re-remember", if you will, all of those things that bring me wonder. Those things that just make me stop and say, "Wow, would you look at that?" Sometimes it's something I see, other times it's a situation, still others it's a memory that is brought to mind. I wanted to use this space today to record just a few of these wonder-filled moments for me over the last few weeks. I would love it if you would share some of yours in the comments, as well. Where have I found wonder lately?... ... I've found it in nature. The picture below was taken of the sunset on my way home from work the other day. It still doesn't quite capture the vividness of the colors. I saw and "wondered" at how God just shows off sometimes with His beauty in nature. When you look closely, it's alm...

“Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55)   I'd like to share a little story. A little story that actually took place a week ago. My Dad had just passed away and my wife and I were taking a walk around the grounds of the beautiful country motel at which we were staying. It was the night before his memorial service. You can imagine the emotions - the sadness of losing a loved one; the poignancy of being back in the small town where I grew up; that realization that we are all mortal. We were enjoying the smell of the fresh air, the sound of the water gently running through the winding creek and looking at some flowers that we don't usually see...  "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:56-57) Then my wife saw it. There, seemingly "hiding" underneath a flower that was hanging down, was the most amazing moth...