分类: Suffering

1/22/2026 0 Comments

I Have Observed

I remember, as an eighteen-year-old, living with my aunt and uncle in Coeur ‘d Alene, Idaho, who graciously took me into their home while I awaited my move to New York to attend West Point. Norm let me drive his Ford Ranchero and paid me to move pipes and water his crops. Whenever I got in a bind, he would flash his trademark Norwegian grin, which could be translated as “You are such an idiot.” I felt like a little kid in his presence. Given my mechanical stupidity, I’m sure he wondered how I would ever make it in an engineering school. Had it not been for God’s help and classmates like Kevin Stewart, who spent hours tutoring me, I would never have survived the Academy, and I wonder what would have become of my life. Wondering can be a healthy exercise in appreciating God’s sovereignty. This surely must have been the case for one of the world’s greatest leaders.

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1/16/2026 2 Comments

Tragedy

Delta Maddogs--40th Gander Reunion

When I walked into the American Legion on December 11, 2025, I was entering a gathering of those connected to the fatal crash of Arrow Airlines on December 12, 1985, that killed 256 people in Gander, Newfoundland. We had assembled in Kentucky for the 40th anniversary of that horrific tragedy. But my first thought was that I was in the wrong place. The people looked too old and mostly unfamiliar as I initially scanned the faces. But then, as my eyes adjusted to the bright light so dissimilar from the dark parking lot, I recognized soldiers from my company and my West Point classmate, Mark Armstrong. I was in the right place, yet wow, how much forty years has changed our appearance and bearing.

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12/9/2025 1 Comment

What Matters II

Pastor Daniel Mugeni

Each year, First Cause sends a Christmas gift to someone on our international team. This year, our gift went to Daniel and Aidda in Iganga, Uganda. Daniel wrote, “You have served my entire family of 30 members with Christmas. I have 26 needy orphans living with me, plus my four kids.” We did not realize that Daniel and Aidda were caring for 26 kids. Like our brother, Joseph, who pastors in Eldoret, Kenya, they do not just pastor needy families; they live by a daily faith that is stretched often beyond what seems possible.

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6/5/2025 0 Comments

Understanding Protection

In the war of the colonists against Great Britain, Benjamin Franklin wrote:
In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor . . . And have we now forgotten this powerful friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?

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5/20/2025 0 Comments

Wounded Tiger

T. Martin Bennett writes a remarkable nonfiction book, Wounded Tiger.[1] It narrates the true story of Mitsuo Fuchida, Jake DeShazer, and the Covell family, showcasing the intersection of their lives during World War II and its aftermath. I highly recommend this book for its profound depiction of God’s redemptive hand at work.

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1/28/2025 0 Comments

Shooting from the Shadows

When I asked West Point classmate Greg, if he had ever been shot from the shadows, he wrote:
I was thinking back to a time in a position of supervisory responsibility for 50 federal employees in eight different locations, enabling almost 5,000 other federal employees. We were working hard to meet tasks and missions professionally. We even received an award for excellence at the Executive Building next to the White House.

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1/21/2025 0 Comments

The Lips of a Priest

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand was arrested and thrown in a Romanian prison for fourteen years.[1] For two of those years, they placed him in solitary confinement. A political prisoner in an adjoining room taught him Morse Code. Using this knowledge, Richard was able to share Bible verses and proclaim Christ to other prisoners. One day, a neighbor tapped that it was Good Friday. Richard found a nail in the lavatory and inscribed “Jesus” on his cell wall, hoping it might comfort someone later assigned to the same room. A guard caught him and angrily placed him in a carcer for two days.

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12/24/2024 0 Comments

Insignificant

He was born in a lowly place—a smelly stable in a manger, nursed among unclean animals because his parents were required by edict to register in an obscure village—Bethlehem, the town Micah, the prophet, foretold (Micah 5:2). His father, Joseph, nearly in secret divorced the unborn Child’s mother, Mary, until an angel intervened and informed him that she conceived through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:19,20). Joseph was a humble carpenter, whose trade he would pass on to his Boy, raised in the Galilean town of Nazareth. “‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Nathanael asked him. ‘Come and see,’ Philip answered” (John 1:46).

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10/3/2024 0 Comments

Peerless

In Isaiah chapter 45, God communicates to King Cyrus nine times that He has no peer; there is no other God. This message extends far beyond a pagan king; it applies to all people.

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9/5/2024 1 Comment

Too Much Pain

What is spiritual dishonesty? Could it be when I refuse to tell the Lord what I honestly think or feel? Might it involve minimizing pain before others to project hollow strength? If the fear of what people can think of me, if the truth is told, exceeds the actuality of my condition, I’ve robbed them and myself of what it means to be genuine. In perpetuating falsehood, no one is bettered, nor can healing occur. I wonder if the means to honesty is too much pain—something Job can help us grasp.

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3/10/2024 3 Comments

Are You Prepared?

After hearing Jesus speak about the destruction of the temple buildings, His disciples asked Him what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3). He shared with them the signs of the end times and what it would be like before His arrival.

An undeniable unsettledness grips the hearts of entire populations concerning these days. One must hardly look to see that all is not well on Earth. But rather than mope or cast blame, why not cope within a different frame—the frame of preparation? Zach Clinton, author of Even If, asked thousands of men attending the Ignite Men’s Impact Weekend at Thomas Road Baptist Church two questions. “Can you sleep through the storm because you have prepared? Are you training for the trial you are not in?”

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2/6/2024 1 Comment

You Must Be Quiet

I was talking to my stressed certified public accountant (CPA). It is that time of year when he prepares tax returns for all his clients. The strain on his face was palpable, so his answer was no surprise when I asked him what I could pray for him. “Ask God to relieve the stress and anxiety of this tax season.”

Eric requests prayer for Ben and Kelly’s failing marriage. Erwin needs intercession for his beloved wife, Sue’s deteriorating health. Jerry seeks wisdom in his job addressing conflicts with Iran, Russia, Ukraine, China, Taiwan, Israel, and Hamas. Nanette argues passionately for the right to see her grandson to the deaf ears of a drug-addicted daughter. Her prayer is for reconciliation and healing.

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12/7/2023 0 Comments

Resistance

West Point cadets as plebes [freshmen] are required to take boxing. I’m a runner, not a fighter. Give me a race to run or a soccer field to compete, and I’ll be thrilled. Put me in a ring with someone who is graded to punch my lights out, and I could think of a million other places I’d rather be. Boxing was painful, and I was no Golden Gloves boxer. Oswald Chambers taught that “Life without war is impossible either in nature or in grace. The basis of physical, mental, moral, and spiritual life is antagonism. This is the open fact of life.”[1] I’m guessing he must have competed in a boxing ring.

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10/28/2023 4 Comments

A Wonderful Aroma

Meditation
2 Corinthians 2:14-16—But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To some we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life. And who is competent for this?

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9/25/2023 0 Comments

Every Generation

God has left the planet. The world is a mess. He does not care about His people or humanity any longer. Have you ever had those thoughts? That is why it is so important to study Scripture.

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8/2/2023 0 Comments

Thinking of You

When there is a death in the family, it is so encouraging to see people rally around and step up to provide support and comfort through meals, cards, flowers, phone calls, and just being present to listen, console, and encourage. The sting of death is not erased; the pain is real and sometimes overwhelming, but a caring community can and does make a difference.

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7/26/2023 1 Comment

Dried Up

The earth is tilting? What?
Pumping groundwater appears to have a greater consequence than ever previously thought. But now—thanks to a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters--we can see that, in less than two decades, Earth has tilted 31.5 inches as a result of pumping groundwater. This equates to .24 inches of sea level rise.[1]
I’m unsure of the science of tying the earth’s tilt to pumping groundwater, but I know God is sometimes the primary cause of disasters and climate change.

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1/25/2023 0 Comments

The Unhindered Way

Meditation
John 14:9—Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’

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1/14/2023 8 Comments

Navigating the Christian Life

Author Geoff Davis

Over forty years ago, on April 1, 1982, I pinned on a US Army Ranger Tab. When I began that program on February 2, 1982, I started with some of the Army’s best soldiers. God used it as one of the most formative lessons in my walk with Him, so that I might know Him better.

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12/16/2022 0 Comments

Grief

Grief is a day shrouded in fog and icy rain fed by a howling wind. It is spoiled fruit no longer fit to be savored. Grief makes its exhausted bed in a hidden cave on a barren mountain ridge called Sorrow. It rests in rare moments of silence and grows weary amidst mindless laughter. Its tears leave furrows unfilled by platitudes. When its memories are roused, new rivers flow, and expectation is uprooted, torn, and damaged.

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