Category Archives: Problem Solving

Keep Your Eyes and Focus on Jesus

Leave a reply

Keep Your Eyes and Focus on Jesus

Keep Your Eyes and Focus on Jesus

It’s easy to lose spiritual focus and get distracted when things don’t seem to be going our way. It’s especially true when we see or experience injustices, trouble, unethical behavior or wrongdoing. However, the Bible encourages us that even, and especially in those times, we should keep our focus and our eyes fixed on Jesus.

God has been showing me some of that lately. I tend to get more frustrated and discouraged when I rely on myself and my own strength instead of remembering that I have a God that will give me the strength I need to handle and endure anything that comes my way if I’ll just look to him.

Sometimes things just get under our skin so much that we forget about God’s role and ability in the whole process. For example, state budget cuts and administrative changes have completely affected education where I live. I teach at a local community college, and we’ve experienced some significant negative effects as well.

Take this upcoming semester, for instance…

In my department alone, over half of the classes have been canceled, instructors are receiving fewer teaching assignments but still have increased workloads, and a tremendous amount of autonomy has been eliminated. It’s super frustrating for both professors and students alike. I had a class canceled this semester, and a good friend of mine did as well, even though she was guaranteed a certain number of classes in return for some uncompensated work that she did.

In these situations it’s extremely easy to focus on the injustice. It’s easy to spend time stewing and trying to think of ways that we can make things right, change our circumstances, and/or make people see the error of their ways. What I should be doing instead is just focusing on God and the things that are in my control. I have to choose to shift my focus from the negative to God. 

I have to choose to shift my focus from the negative to God.

Click To Tweet

Park’s tree

Continue reading →

Scriptures for Waiting on God

Leave a reply

Scriptures for Waiting on God

Scriptures for Waiting on God

Last week we were talking about the patience and endurance needed when waiting on God. One of the things we discussed was the importance of encouraging ourselves with God’s promises. I mentioned that we need to find some scriptures to focus on during the waiting periods. So today I thought I’d share a few helpful scriptures for waiting on God.

Scriptures for Waiting on God

“I wait for your salvation, O LORD.” Genesis 49:18 (ESV)

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalms 27:13-14 (NIV)

“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!” Psalm 31:24 (ESV)

“We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.” Psalm 33:20 (NIV)

“Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.” Psalm 37:7 (NLT)

“LORD, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.” Psalm 38:15 (NIV)

“I have waited with hope for you to save me, O LORD. I have carried out your commandments.” Psalm 119:166 (GW)

“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5 (NIV)

“Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you.” Proverbs 20:22 (NIV)

“So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” Isaiah 30:18 (NLT)
“But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)

“For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” Isaiah 64:4 (NLT)

“The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” Lamentations 3:25-26 (ESV)

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NLT) Continue reading →

When You’re Waiting on God

Leave a reply

When you're waiting on God

When You’re Waiting on God

Have you ever had to wait on God for something? Are you waiting on God right now for him to come through in some way? Do you ever feel like God has forgotten about you or abandoned you? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then today’s post is for you!

Waiting on God can test a Christian’s faith and stretch it to the limits. Patience is a major factor in the process of waiting on God. Sometimes God’s timing doesn’t match ours. When God’s promise, our “answer”, or whatever it is we’re waiting on takes longer than expected, it’s easy to grow weary and lose heart. We can get tempted to doubt, give up and/or stop doing what God has told us to do in the meantime. However, if we give up we could lose the very thing that God is trying to do for us or bless us with.

Don’t give up

Regardless of how frustrated, doubtful and weary we get, we shouldn’t give up when we’re waiting on God. God promises us that we if we don’t give up, even when we’re tired, that we’ll get a reward and blessing. He tells us that he will refresh and satisfy us if we will hold on. Then he also promises to renew our strength and give us power to endure. God will give us strength to press on if we will continue to wait on him.

“Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Jeremiah 31:25 (NIV)

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:29-31 (NIV)

Jesus endured, so we can endure

Continue reading →

Scriptures for Troubling Times

Leave a reply

Scriptures for Troubling Times: God gives us promises throughout scripture. We can apply these scriptures to our situations and circumstances to give us peace, to build our faith, to encourage us, and sometimes to even turn the situation around.

Scriptures for Troubling Times

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve shared about preparing for the storms of life and some ways to endure those storms when they come. One of the practical ways we can endure and overcome these storms is to utilize God’s word. We can use scriptures for troubling times.

God gives us promises throughout scripture. We can apply these scriptures to our situations and circumstances to give us peace, to build our faith, to encourage us, and sometimes to even turn the situation around. God also tells us to remind Him, or put Him in remembrance, of His Word. When we remind God, we remind ourselves too!

“Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.” Isaiah 43:26 (ESV)

In order to remind God, we have to find and know the verses first to be able to use those scriptures for troubling times. It’s helpful to make a list of some go-to verses to access when those times arise. I’ve put together just a few of my personal favorites here. 

We can apply scriptures to situations to give us peace, to build our faith, and to encourage us.

Click To Tweet

General scriptures for troubling times:

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” Psalm 34:19 (ESV)

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 (NIV)

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 (NLT)

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 (NLT)

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)

Continue reading →

When Things Are Going Wrong…

Leave a reply

When things are going wrong...God still has your back. Read more in this story about a weekend getaway with a very rough start!

When Things Are Going Wrong…God Still Has Your Back

This past weekend my family spent a couple of days at the lake in a rented cabin. Eric was competing in a fishing tournament, and we had an annual family reunion to attend as well. So we had decided to just make a family weekend of it. Boy, did it get off to a rocky start though with everything seemingly going wrong!

Today I thought I would share what I wrote in my Saturday morning quiet time journal entry while at the lake. I wanted to convey how even in the midst of things going wrong right and left, that God still sees us, takes care of us, and even rescues us.

I started my journal entry Saturday morning saying that I was thankful for finally having a semi-peaceful moment to relax after a not-so-good start to the weekend. Then I proceeded to list all the stuff that had been going wrong…

It started going wrong with a late start

Eric went to the lake early, and we stayed behind to attend my niece’s birthday party that evening. This meant that I was responsible for getting myself, the kids, and the dogs packed and loaded to go by myself. This can be a somewhat stressful task, in and of itself, even without anything going wrong. Unfortunately, we got off to a later start that night than I had originally wanted, and we still had an hour and a half drive ahead of us.

Tire trouble

A warning light was coming on in my car to indicate low tire pressure. Apparently one of the tires on my car has a slow leak. Eric said I should probably go to a gas station and air it up before heading out of town. At the gas station I proceeded to use the hose provided to try to air the tire up. It seemed like it was taking FOREVER, and there was a car waiting behind me, the driver getting visibly frustrated. I checked the tire pressure again, and it had actually gone down not up. Fabulous.

After a couple of phone calls to Eric, some help from my son, and the waiting car speeding off angrily (without offering me any help, mind you), I finally figured out I was neglecting to squeeze a trigger handle thingy (that’s my technical term for it). I had been letting the air OUT of my tire, not filling it. When I started doing it correctly, it filled pretty quickly. Whew! Now we could leave.

Got lost

Evidently the cabin where we stayed didn’t have a physical address to where a GPS navigation would accurately direct/find. Eric took a screenshot on Google Maps (even though mine looked different on my phone). I dropped a pin into my phone maps and had Siri direct me from there. Don’t ever trust Siri. She wasn’t my friend this weekend. Needless to say, I got lost…a lot…in the dark…very late at night…in a strange place. Oh, and by the way did I mention that I typically don’t see well at night? I’m also a bit directionally-challenged (as I’ve mentioned before). It was a bad combination putting all those things together.

On a side note, can I just say that these lake residences really just need to get their act together? I mean, really. There’s no lighting on the roads. There are no road signs (and on GPS it looks like you’re driving in a field!). If you take the wrong street there are no turnarounds. I may or may not have driven on a few lawns and barely missed a few trees and mailboxes. And if all that wasn’t enough going wrong so far… Continue reading →

Controversies of the Paschal Pardon and Barabbas

Leave a reply

Controversies of the Paschal Pardon and Barabbas

Controversies of the Paschal Pardon and Barabbas

Last week I mentioned that while doing some research I came across some controversy about Barabbas and the Paschal Pardon. Some scholars and skeptics have debated a few different issues of perceived inconsistencies and misconceptions. Honestly, I had never even heard of some of the criticisms. So that you won’t be surprised like I was when you hear them, I’ll give you a brief overview of what some of the debate has been about.

Was the Paschal Pardon fabricated by the apostles?

First, some critics argue the validity and truth of the Paschal Pardon. Some contend that it was made up and was not an actual custom. Their argument stems from the fact that the custom has not been mentioned in any historical documents outside the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John). Their claim that there is no evidence of a Paschal Pardon aside from the Bible is accurate. Nowhere else is this exact practice mentioned besides the Bible.

However, scholars speculate several plausible theories explaining this perceived discrepancy. Some explanations include similar customs in Roman history, Hasmonean customs, and possibly even ancient Jewish/Talmudical customs. [1] [2] According to these sources there were several events in history where pardons were offered to prisoners at festival times.

Furthermore, the Bible itself has been proven a valid historical document. Therefore, simply dismissing information because it only appears in scripture is fallacy. Even non-Christian historians recognize the validity of the Bible as a historical document. In her book, Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side, Natasha Crain explains in detail why we can trust the Bible as a historically accurate document.[3] I highly recommend her book to learn more (and teach others) about why we can trust the Bible.

Is the Paschal Pardon inconsistent with Roman authority?

Continue reading →