What Do You Say When Someone Dies?
What do you say when someone dies? When things get real, it can quickly get uncomfortable. This is why a lot of us like to keep conversations light. Why we tend to back out of conversations that get heavy. Many of us would rather keep it at the level of “How you doing?” “Doing great!” […]
Somewhere Between Now and Not Yet
A little perspective: Sitting at the coffee shop doing some studying and sermon writing is sometimes a mixed bag. It’s great coffee, and away from some of the distractions of my office, but it’s also a public place with other customers. And sometimes it’s a place where young mothers congregate with their two-year-old children. Did […]
God Is My Strength: Reflections on God’s Faithfulness During a Dark Time
“The Lord God is my strength, And He has made my feet like deer’s feet, And has me walk on my high places.” (Hab. 3:19, NASB) How was your high school experience? I did not enjoy mine at all. I was bullied over my skin color and disparaged by my teachers for not being as smart as […]
Grandma’s Last Amazing Grace: Reflections on How a Christian Dies
We knew the call would come but even so, it was a hard call to take. “Grandma is not doing good at all. She is struggling to breath. You should come as soon as you can.” I’m sure it was a hard call, as well, for my sister Becca to make. I told her that […]
10 Reasons to Remember the Dead
Why is it important to remember the dead? We remember the dead for many reasons, as doing so unearths lessons from their lives to guide us in the present. In the 1970s, forgetting the dead caused one nation to kill one fourth of its living. It was the year 1975 in Cambodia. The Communist Khmer […]
Blessed in Mourning: 3 Gifts to Give Someone Who Is Grieving
Unexpectedly over the last few months, I’ve gained deeper understanding of the second beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” I’ve known with my head that there will one day be a final fulfillment of this teaching of Jesus, where all those believers that have experienced grief and loss will find […]
A Microscopic Killer Gone Viral
*Editor’s Note: The following is the introduction to a timely book by Dr. Scott Sager called Jesus in Isolation: Lazarus, Viruses, and Us. As you read the following excerpt from the book, be encouraged that seasons of isolation are nothing new and that Jesus meets us in our times of isolation and grief. We also […]
How Can I Reach Out to a Lonely Person in a Year of Loss?
His phone buzzed him awake from his dreaming. Groaning, he slapped his hand over to grab the phone and squinted as the bright screen dominated the darkness of the room. He was glad he had bought the light-canceling curtains, but he blinked several times as he turned off the alarm and grabbed his glasses. His […]
