Isaac is about to bless Jacob in one of the most famous stories of deception ever told. (Gen 27) It’s a hard story. Culturally, the whole idea of a blessing like this is foreign to us. It can even seem unfair on the surface. But let’s remember, the surface is all our human eyes canContinue reading “You can’t see everything just yet…”
Tag Archives: hold on
Questions and Keeping On
As I open my Bible to Genesis 25, I don’t get very far into the passage before I’m a little shocked. Isaac is married. Abraham takes another wife, in his old age and has more children (that’s a little shocking!) but what really shocked me, is that after Abraham dies, Isaac AND ISHMAEL bury him.Continue reading “Questions and Keeping On”
You ready to go?
Are you ready to hop on a bumpy, slow-moving camel, to travel 500-900 miles to a place you’ve never been, with a person you just met, to marry a guy you’ve never laid eyes on? As I pick up Genesis again, Abraham has confidently sent his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac.Continue reading “You ready to go?”
THIS always causes me to take notice…
Have you seen it? I sure have. Joy that makes ABSOLUTELY no earthly sense. It’s a high and holy thing.It’s supernatural.It always causes me to take notice…. As they travel toward the Promised Land, Sarah dies. (Genesis 23) Abraham purchases land to bury his wife (the only land he will actually end up owning). AndContinue reading “THIS always causes me to take notice…”
Has God ever seemed unfair?
Have you ever thought God might be unfair? Sometimes, even when we read Scripture, we may get this impression. Genesis 21 might be one of those passages …but hang on and check this out… After 25 years of waiting on the promise to be fulfilled, Sarah gives birth to Isaac. Then, Sarah gets upset (again)Continue reading “Has God ever seemed unfair?”
Silence
Silence. That day after the Savior had died. The pounding of the nails, the jeers of the crowd, His cries of pain. Now Silent. His body in the tomb. What now? They surely longed to hear His comforting voice. But Silence. They had left jobs, families, everything to follow Him. Now what? Silence. Nothing.But.Silence. Confused,Continue reading “Silence”
I don’t want to go through HARD days….
Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a mountaintop to pray. And then this happens… “As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease whichContinue reading “I don’t want to go through HARD days….”
If I’m honest, let me tell you…
If only…my happiness wasn’t so closely tied to whether my blessings outweigh my burdens on any given day. If only…I could be more self controlled and gentle and not mess up again today. If only…I could always walk in truth and not fall once more to the lies of the enemy. If only…my hope neverContinue reading “If I’m honest, let me tell you…”
One day every sad thing will become untrue
As Christian’s, there is something we have to do that is incredibly hard to do. We have to be okay with not understanding everything. I’ve talked with so many people, in just the past week, who are walking through incredibly hard things, or dealing with situations that just make no earthly sense. Something devastating hasContinue reading “One day every sad thing will become untrue”
Hope for the Heartache
I had just finished posting my devotional yesterday, and was studying another passage, when an early morning message took my breath away. A mom, who loves Jesus, serves the Lord with her husband in ministry, and who had sat with me at ballgames as we watched our daughters cheer, messaged to let me know herContinue reading “Hope for the Heartache”
When the trouble just keeps coming
What do you do when the trouble JUST keeps coming? The trouble, the pain, just keeps coming and coming–piling up, suffocating, and consuming every thought. You search for hope in the darkness. You barely remember the time, a long time ago, when you thought if you just followed Jesus life would go, well, easy. ButContinue reading “When the trouble just keeps coming”
When they call you names…
A while back, a young, full of himself and this world person, called me “”Karen” after I had written something he didn’t like. While he meant it in a derogatory way, I smiled because one of the most godly women I have ever known was named “Karen”. She is with Jesus now, and she wasContinue reading “When they call you names…”
I want to be on the other side…
I want to be on the other side. You know the other side of the current problem impacting my life. I want to feel the rejoicing that comes AFTER the pain and worry have subsided. I know what that is like.I’ve seen God be faithful before. But right now.I’m in the “not yet”. I’m inContinue reading “I want to be on the other side…”
When you don’t have the answers.
I don’t have answers to life’s questions. God knows I have many, many questions. I long for Him. I want to understand Him. I want to follow Him. But, if I am honest, I also want life to be stable, predictable and easy. When hard days come, I want to immediately see what God isContinue reading “When you don’t have the answers.”
When you need HOPE!
Honestly , I thought, by this point in these hard days of these two hard years, I’d be able to explain what God is doing and tie everything up in a really good devotional. But things are still hard, and no end is in sight. And it’s Christmastime. I’ve struggled. Have you? I’ve shook myContinue reading “When you need HOPE!”
When God Doesn’t Seem Fair
When God Doesn’t Seem FairFrom Two Moms’ Hearts Five years ago. The surgery waiting room was packed with family and close-as-family special friends. We had been told the day before my tall, dark, and handsome twenty-three-year-old son’s mass was cancer. This second surgery would reveal if the cancer had spread to Will’s lymph nodes. (ItContinue reading “When God Doesn’t Seem Fair”
For those wrestling to understand
Jacob wrestled with God. That’s too much for my mind to even conceive. Except, I’m wrestling. Not in the physical sense, but certainly in that I’m trying to understand what God is doing through some exhaustingly hard things in my life. I know it’s true that God routinely does things we do not understand forContinue reading “For those wrestling to understand”
Ancient words of encouragement for our hard days.
Tender words. Paul had lived them. “What was gain to me, these things I have counted loss for Christ” (Phil 3:7) As he sat in a Roman prison writing this letter, Paul looked back at all he had before he had radically encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. He recounts these things in PhilippiansContinue reading “Ancient words of encouragement for our hard days.”
Things to remember when “this” is hard and you long for victory.
What’s your “this”? As Paul famously sat imprisoned for the faith, he knew “this” would turn out for his deliverance through prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:19). He needed prayer and he needed the Holy Spirit to earnestly hope he wouldn’t be ashamed, but that Christ would be magnifiedContinue reading “Things to remember when “this” is hard and you long for victory.”
Have you been grieving too?
We have spent days getting ready to celebrate a new baby to our family. We’ve seen God’s Hand answer our prayers as my niece and her husband, who have suffered through years and years of infertility, are ready to welcome their little one. And we rejoiced. But before all the guests arrived, before everything lookedContinue reading “Have you been grieving too?”
Kim Jaggers Ministry 