What. A. Disaster. At least that’s what it seemed like at first. An unknown and unimportant peasant girl was “betrothed” to be married to a man named Joseph. A Jewish marriage was arranged by the parents with a contract called a betrothal. This ceremonial pledge was legally binding, and only divorce could break it. After the man offered the woman a special gift, both persons would go back to their...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:  Before Emmanuel took on human flesh and came to dwell among me, there was a lot of discouragement in that day. From hypocritical religious leaders using religion as a tool to manipulate others and Roman authorities forcing Jews to submit to their outrageous economic expectations, people were hopeless. Then, Jesus came and reversed the fortunes of the world! What cannot be...  Read More

Weeping, crying, grieving, gut wrenching emotionally draining overwhelming weeping. I’ve been there and know the agony.  I think we’ve all been there. Perhaps you’re there now. If you are, I am sorry you are hurting. But be encouraged, God cares, and he knows all about your life and your pain. The Bible is filled with many examples of God showing up in the middle of somebody’s darkest moments and ...  Read More

I don’t know about you but there are times when I feel as if I have let Jesus down. May it be the temptation that we let win or the missed opportunities we had to share his love. Just this past week Sarah and I were out on a date night, we went out to the movies and followed that up with dinner. Both times Sarah and I talked about missed opportunities, did we let God down? All the way to the resta...  Read More

It is so easy to become too comfortable or at least used to a tough situation. I remember as my first deployment to Iraq was coming to an end and having a bit of anxiety about leaving. I had arrived several months earlier. One day I am with my family at home with all the security and comfort that goes along with it, then 40 hours later to living and working in the “Green Zone” in downtown Baghdad....  Read More

"If I fail to reaffirm my helplessness daily, then yesterday's victory will lead me to today's defeat."  - Steve Curington This quote lives rent free in my brain, and has since I heard it almost 10 years ago. Today as I was researching for my devotional it popped into my brain once again. I think it is very easy to slip into the mindset that we are in control, that we have it all together, or that...  Read More