Home is a powerful word. Over 1,000 movie titles have the word “home” in them, and home is a central, emotional motif of much literature and art in general.
Whether you’ve gone away to war, college, or vacation, coming home just feels special.
Scripture gives us a few examples of homecomings…
The well-known, well-loved gospel song, “The Love of God,” at first reading might seem to be filled with hyperbole. Descriptions of God’s love as reaching beyond the highest star or the lowest hell, outlasting earth, stretching to eternity, and requiring oceans of ink, worlds of pens and scribes, and skies of paper to begin its telling strain our rational minds.
Yet, these comparisons are not hyperbole because they are literally true…
When I was twelve years old, I attended the funeral for my 5-year-old cousin, Ronda, who had died of cancer. As difficult as that time was, it did not compare with the loss of both parents just three weeks apart last spring. I had a living hope that this separation was only temporary, and I would see them again. I claimed many promises from Scripture to sustain me, but I still sorrowed because my heart was broken.
And I let the sorrow overtake me…
In moments of profound loss and grief, we often find ourselves searching for an anchor—something to hold onto when the waves of sorrow threaten to overwhelm us. As I sat quietly in the van on the way home from a memorial service this past weekend in Atlanta, I was reminded of the timeless hymn, “Abide with Me.”
When you think of boldness, especially in the context of faith and sharing the gospel, what images spring to mind? Do you picture yourself as a bold person? Imagine if your life were infused with spirit-filled boldness. What exactly does that look like?
Let’s look together at some historical and biblical examples of boldness as well as some practical steps to bold witnessing.
I like snow when I like it, where I like it, and how I like it.
Otherwise, obviously, not so much!
As I contemplated this reality, I recognized that this is often the same attitude that I have when approach what God sends me in my life.
The ball (or in our case here in Raleigh—an acorn) has dropped.
Confetti litters the ground. Kisses have been exchanged. The kids are finally in bed.
Now what?
Much of the world’s greatest hymnody and poetry has been more therapeutic for the writer who penned the words than for those who continue to read them decades later. Such is the case with the famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his classic Christmas carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” originally titled “Christmas Bells.” In the depths of his unimaginable grief, Longfellow’s pen etched a journey from personal despair to resolute hope.
How can anyone not love Christmas lights?
My Grandpa Merz had the best light display at Christmas that I ever remember. I’m not sure when he started his work nor do I know the number of lights that he used (I’m sure I thought that it must’ve been a million!). But his house and yard were always spectacular!
Gratitude for God’s enduring faithfulness and unwavering compassion should be a central theme during Thanksgiving—reminding us to appreciate and be thankful for the good things we have. But it shouldn’t stop there.
For believers, it is our exclusive right and privilege to praise God sincerely and superlatively for His unending faithfulness.
There are four specific ways we can see how God is always and ever faithful.
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