“Do your best to come to me soon, for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.” (2 Timothy 4:9-13) Look at the contrast here. Demas is in love with the present world and so he has left the ministry. However, in the next breath Paul requests physical possessions —…

I’m reading John Eldridge’s Walking with God. He’s making the point that what we want is our “happy little life.” That’s the bargain we make with God. I’ll follow God and He won’t let any bad thing happen to me. Well, this agreement doesn’t work in this world. Part of the reason is because the world is fallen and neither we nor our lives will be perfect until we get to heaven. But the really big reason is that we keep trying to make God a means to an end! An assistant in our quest for a happy life. But happiness comes and goes with the wind. Found a great…

God does not sulk around or let His children cry in the dark looking for Him. Is that what Love does? No it is not. What He does is ask us to listen for Him in a myriad ways. A flower reminds us of Him. We see Him in the faces of our Christian friends and family. We see Him in the joy of work well done and of relaxing afterwards in front of the fire. All good things are from the Father above. We hear Him in a Bible story that reminds us of something or gives us new insight. We hear Him in circumstances. We hear Him in…