Sure-Footed Confidence

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Barbara Harper

The book of Habakkuk might seem an unlikely place to draw inspiration for Easter. But my study from Habakkuk last week gave me food for thought this Easter week.

Habakkuk is my favorite of the Old Testament “minor” prophets. His book is just three chapters long and seems to be a lot more understandable than some of the others.

First, Habakkuk laments the violence, destruction, iniquity, and injustice he sees around him. He asks God how long he’ll cry for help without God answering.

God answers that He is sending the “dreaded and fearsome” Chaldeans.

Habakkuk’s response in our day would sound something like, “Wait–what?!” He wonders how God in His holiness can send a wicked nation against His own people.

God’s answer is the longest part of the book, too long to delineate here. But He begins with “The righteous shall live by his faith” and ends with “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

In other words, “I know what I am doing. Trust me.”

In-between those truths, He promises He will deal with the Chaldeans.

His answer satisfied Habakkuk, who praises Him and prays for revival. In what’s probably the most well-known part of the book, next to “The just shall live by His faith,” Habakkuk proclaims that, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls”–

In other words, through economic collapse, need, everything going wrong–

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

That passage has rebuked and inspired me many times. But what stood out to me on this reading was the next verse: “God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.”

The ESV Study Bible notes say of this verse, “Habakkuk can have sure-footed confidence in God and can live on the heights even amid extreme circumstances.”

Have you ever seen deer or mountain goats walking and leaping in areas where it looks like they’ll take a tumble at any moment? They are much more sure-footed than I would be in their place.

Our day is not unlike Habakkuk’s. Violence, injustice, and iniquity abound. We know from later books in the Bible that things will get worse before the end.

But because Jesus came, lived a totally righteous life in our place, died for our sins, and rose again:

We can be forgiven.

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:13-15).

We can have everlasting life.

“I am the resurrection and the life.Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25).
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Jesus lives within us.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

We have access to God.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2).
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4: 14-16).

We don’t have to fear death.

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

We have comfort in sorrow.

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

We have meaning in our work.

After 57 verses about the resurrection, Paul writes, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

We have perspective in our suffering.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

We have focus for our daily walk.

“We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

God has graciously given us more Scripture than Habakkuk had. But the truth remains: “The righteous shall live by his faith” and “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

We don’t know how everything will work out before the Lord comes again. But we can have “sure-footed confidence in God” and “live on the heights even amid extreme circumstances.” Our souls can be stable even when our circumstances are not.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I have just a short list to share today:

Easter Week in Real Time, HT to the Story Warren. Russ Ramsey has put together the Bible accounts of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life in chronological order.

The Day Between Loss and Glory, HT to Challies. “Easter weekend has always been one of contemplation for me; and much more so over the last three years as we continue to navigate what life is like after the death of our eldest son, Ezra. I often think about Friday and Christ’s crucifixion; the incredible sacrifice he made for sinners like me. I love to celebrate on Sunday; the glory and hope of the resurrection. In recent years, however, I find Saturday is much more dear to me.”

All Thinks Considered. Thinking about overthinking. “Overthinking, on the other hand, is getting stuck in woulda, shoulda, what-ifs, and whys, analyzing and reanalyzing the same thoughts, situations, and interactions—past, present, and future—and obsessing about the outcome. It’s that kind of overthinking that can trap us in all kinds of worry and the highest anxiety. It can freeze up our decision-making abilities.”

Spirit-Empowered Growth. “Spiritual growth is possible because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit actively works in our lives to make us more like Christ. He accomplishes His sanctifying work in a number of different ways.”

Why Did God Reject Cain’s Offering? “The second sin in the Bible is Cain’s anger at and murder of his brother. This story is both incredibly relatable, as is seen from the scores of families that have been strained, divided, and ultimately ripped apart from envy, anger, and jealousy. Yet it is also confusing. It’s confusing because it isn’t immediately obvious why God is displeased with Cain’s offering. Several theories have been proposed, and I have a theory of my own to throw in at the end. I want to work through each of these and examine the strengths and weaknesses of each position.”

Grace in the Struggle: 5 Truths from Life with Fabry. Ashley writes about what she’s learned from a chronic illness called Fabry disease, but these truths are applicable for other conditions as well.

The devil thought he was defeating Christ, but Christ was reconciling us to God, defeating the devil and delivering us out of His clutches. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Who Is Responsible for Jesus’ Death?

Posted on March 29, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Every now and then, the question comes up: Who killed Jesus? Who is responsible for His death?

Let’s look at the possibilities:

Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Even though Pilate said he did not find in guilt in Jesus (John 18:38; 19:5), and tried to have Jesus released (John 19:12), he still delivered Him over to be crucified (John 19:16). Even though Pilate washed his hands, proclaiming his innocence of Jesus’ blood (Matthew 27:24), he is still responsible.

The Roman soldiers. One could say they were just following Pilate’s orders, that they didn’t authorize Jesus’ death. Yet they were the ones to actually nail Him to a cross. And they went beyond orders to mock and beat Him (Matthew 27:27-31).

The Jewish officials. The chief priests and elders “plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him” (Matthew 26:3-5). They paid Judas to betray Him. They sent people to seize Jesus (Mathew 26:47). They accused him before Pilate (John 18:28-32; 19:12-16). When Pilate offered to free Jesus as part of his tradition of freeing a prisoner during the Passover week, they urged the people to ask for Barabbas to be freed instead and to call for Jesus to be crucified Matthew 27:15-23).

The Jewish people. When Pilate washed his hands, saying he was innocent of Jesus’ blood, “all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’” (Matthew 27:24-25). This is not a reason for antisemitism, nor is it saying that all Jews of all time are guilty of Jesus’ death. It’s just saying that the people who had rejected Jesus during the time of His ministry called for His death and willingly took responsibility.

Judas. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and led those seeking Him straight to Him. I don’t know if he realized his actions would result in Jesus’ death. But whether he intended it or not, he had a hand in Jesus’ crucifixion.

God the Father. None of the above could have happened if God did not allow it. But God the Father did not merely allow events to happen that resulted in His Son’s death. He gave His Son to die for our sins. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9).

Jesus Himself. Jesus was not an unwilling pawn in His death. He said, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:17-19). “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. . . Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesian 5:2, 25-27).

Us. How can we be responsible for Jesus’ death when we didn’t live at the time of His crucifixion? He died for the sins of the whole world. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6). We may not have held the hammer that drove the nails or shouted for His crucifixion. But he was on the cross to pay for our sins.

So–who was ultimately responsible?

Well, the disciples said in Acts 4:27-28 (NKJV), “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.” The Roman officials, the Jewish people, and even the Gentiles are mentioned–but so is God’s plan and purpose.

Likewise, Acts 2:23 says, “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” The Father and Son planned this ahead of time, but it was accomplished “by the hands of lawless men” (some translations say wicked men).

Somehow God’s rule and man’s will worked together to accomplish God’s purposes. It’s like what Joseph said of his brothers’ wrongs committed against him: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20).

The good news is that Jesus didn’t die just to heap guilt on us. He died to save us from our sins. He prayed for forgiveness even for the men who killed Him. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). And His desire is that people believe on Him and accept His forgiveness.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

He died for us. He died for you. Please don’t neglect this wonderful gift of love.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Spring for the Soul

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Barbara Harper

After Noah and his family finally got off the ark, God promised, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

One of the things I loved about moving from TX to SC and TN was having four distinct seasons. Winter has its charms, but it’s not my favorite. Our winters aren’t as severe as many of our northern neighbors, but the cold can still pack a punch.

Early spring can still host a snowfall or two. We don’t usually plant anything until well into May, so young seedlings aren’t killed by a late frost.

Still, by and large, signs of spring increase day by day. Light stays longer. Trees begin to bud. Spring flowers start sending their shoots above ground. And many of us feel a new hope and energy with the return of color and light into our worlds.

Souls have seasons, too, though they are not as predictable as the physical realm. I’ve often been inspired by John Newton’s “Waiting for Spring.” The whole poem, along with some of his journal entries at the time, can be found here. I’ve shared it many times before, but it always speaks to me this time of year. In the first three stanzas, he talks about the change of seasons as part of God’s decree. Then he writes:

Such changes are for us decreed;
Believers have their winters too;
But spring shall certainly succeed,
And all their former life renew.

Winter and spring have each their use,
And each, in turn, his people know;
One kills the weeds their hearts produce,
The other makes their graces grow.

Though like dead trees awhile they seem,
Yet having life within their root,
The welcome spring’s reviving beam
Draws forth their blossoms, leaves, and fruit.

Then he prays in the last stanza:

Dear Lord, afford our souls a spring,
Thou know’st our winter has been long;
Shine forth, and warm our hearts to sing,
And thy rich grace shall be our song.

Another of his poems, or hymns, “Pleasing spring is here again” captures evidences of spring.

What a change has taken place!
Emblem of the spring of grace;
How the soul, in winter, mourns
Till the Lord, the Sun, returns;
Till the Spirit’s gentle rain,
Bids the heart revive again;
Then the stone is turned to flesh,
And each grace springs forth afresh.

Lord, afford a spring to me!
Let me feel like what I see;
Ah! my winter has been long,
Chilled my hopes, and stopped my song!
Winter threatened to destroy
Faith and love, and every joy;
If thy life was in the root,
Still I could not yield thee fruit.

Speak, and by thy gracious voice
Make my drooping soul rejoice;
O beloved Saviour, haste,
Tell me all the storms are past:
On thy garden deign to smile,
Raise the plants, enrich the soil;
Soon thy presence will restore
Life to what seemed dead before.

Both of these hymns were in Newton’s Olney Hymns, Book 2.

Unlike dormant spring plants and trees, we don’t have to wait for the Son to shine. We can go to His light: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130).

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

“Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (Hosea 6:3).

“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall” (Malachi 4:2).

“To give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:77-79).

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:2).

When winter hangs on in our souls, we need God’s light to warm, nourish, and revive us. We can pray with John Newton:

Dear Lord, afford our souls a spring,
Thou know’st our winter has been long;
Shine forth, and warm our hearts to sing,
And thy rich grace shall be our song.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on March 21, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Here’s some of the good blogging found this week:

What God Is Doing When He Doesn’t Seem to be Doing Anything. “Sometimes we can’t help but wonder—what is God doing when he doesn’t seem to be doing anything? What is God doing when it isn’t clear that he is working toward the goal I long for? What is he up to when he doesn’t seem to be answering my most heartfelt prayers? The Bible offers a variety of answers, each of which can encourage us to wait with patience, hope, and confidence.”

Has Manifestation Found Its Way Into Your Prayer Life? “It should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that in our era of expressive individualism, we have come up with a ‘spiritual practice’ that does away with the middleman (who in this case happens to be the God of the universe) and puts the emphasis on the force of our own will. However, I wonder if even firm believers in the efficacy and necessity of prayer have become susceptible to the practice of manifestation in the way we frame our prayers.”

Learning to Be a “Friendtor,” HT to Challies. I love this! “Essentially, I realised I was a regular, bumbling, work-in-progress Christian. If I had to dole out sage spiritual sound bytes at regular intervals or live without mistakes, I would have a giant F on my mentor report card. But as I stepped into the role with doubts and fears, I began to unlearn a few things.”

Fallen from Grace: The Mysterious Warning of Galatians 5:4. ““You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4). Falling from grace sounds serious. It sounds like something we should avoid at all costs. But how can we avoid it if we are unsure of what it means to fall from grace?”

5 Lies that Steal Your Joy (and How to Replace Them with Truth). “Have you ever experienced something that should bring you joy, but instead leaves you feeling discouraged, anxious, and less than? The biggest culprits that steal my joy are the unbiblical soundtracks playing in my head.”

The Secret to Contentment on the Merry-Go-Round of Life. “Life is like a 1960s merry-go-round. It’s not a gentle carousel that rotates slowly while we sit atop cute animals, bobbing and smiling for pictures. Instead, life in this world flings us around at lightning speed, and when we lose our grip, it casts us into a heap on the hard ground, broken and bloodied. Unless we know the secret. “

When Life Feels Impossible: Lessons from the Book of Ruth. “Some situations feel so hopeless that I struggle to imagine how God could bring good from them. However, God has been showing me that this attitude reveals how little I trust Him to work in these situations—and how distorted my view of Him can become. Recently, He’s been using the book of Ruth to help me see this more clearly. “

Kindness That Blooms in Barren Seasons. “A woman’s willingness to care for others when she herself is hurting is a glimpse of grace at work. Perhaps the reason her example moves us so deeply is because it reflects the character of Christ Himself. His example in the Gospels shows us that when we extend kindness isn’t based on our emotional reserves or dependent on if the weather of our lives feels right. Even in barren seasons, the kindness of God can still bloom.”

Risk Setting Your Soul on Fire: Start Reading Missionary Biographies Today. “Few believers today read missionary biographies. I’m not going to list why not. I don’t understand it myself. Missionary biographies have been a blessing and an inspiration to me throughout my spiritual journey. So here is a whole stack of reasons why you should start reading a missionary biography today.”

Life in the Margins, HT to Challies. “Sometimes in evangelical culture we can be tempted to think that the one shot we have to really connect with the Lord daily is in our ‘quiet time’ (or devotions or whatever you want to call it).^⁠ That time is crucial, of course, but what we often fail to realize is that the little moments, the walk-by-the-way moments, add up.”

What Will We Do with What We Know? “I know a lot about the guy. If you’ve been married for long, you probably know a whole lot about your spouse, too. That’s a good thing. But the real question isn’t what do we know about our spouse. It’s what will we do with what we know?”

Time, Routines, and Interruptions That Aren’t. “Whether you are a Christian parent trying to juggle the stay-at-home parenting life, managing a hectic job, holding down commitments to community, church, and family, or a combination of any of those, managing time is a constant struggle. While we want to be good stewards of the time God has given us, we can fall into patterns of unnecessary striving, laziness, avoidance, or idolatry.”

Posting Hoaxes: Part 1: The Facebook Hoax Is Back: Why Writers Must Verify Before They Share and Part2: Before You Share That Post: A Writer’s Guide to Verifying Information and Building Trust Online. Though these posts are written to authors, most of the information is applicable to anyone. When we post what turns out to be a hoax, we lose credibility, among other things.

The fear of the Lord is love on its knees. –Adrian Rogers

God Uses the Ordinary

Posted on March 15, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I often hear people put the words “just” or “only” in front of their descriptions.

I’m just a student.

I’m just a housewife.

I’m just a mom.

I’m just a secretary.

I’m just a bus driver.

Saying “I’m just . . . ” in that context implies the speaker feels somehow subpar, that others have a bigger role in life.

It’s true that God sometimes takes a person from relative obscurity, gives them a big job, and puts them out in front. Moses, Joseph, Gideon, David, Daniel, Peter, and so many others come to mind.

But most of the people preached to in the Bible, the people who made up the churches the New Testament letters were written to, were just ordinary people learning what it meant to live for Christ in their worlds.

Some of the people we see in the Bible were in the spotlight for a while, but went back to ordinary life: Ruth, Zechariah and Elizabeth, Anna, Simeon, and others. There are some of Jesus’ disciples about whom we know nothing but their names. Mary, the mother of Jesus, experienced some spectacular episodes around Jesus’ birth. But most of the rest of her life was involved with the everyday happenings of a Jewish mother in Nazareth.

Then there were people like the little girl who served Naaman’s wife and told about the prophet in Israel who could heal her master, or the boy who gave his small lunch to the disciples, which was broken and multiplied to feed thousands.

Ordinary life is where the rubber meets the road, isn’t it? That’s where we tend to let our guard down. But that’s also where the bulk of our ministry is, among our own family, neighborhood, and church.

Some of the ordinary people who have ministered to me:

A couple in our church who often invited me over for a meal, followed by their family devotional time, and unwittingly modeled for me what a godly marriage and family looked like.

A woman just ahead of me in life seasons who talked about her teenage daughter while we put up a missionary bulletin board at church and shaped my view of parenting teenagers.

A couple at church who anonymously paid for my tuition to a Christian school for my last two years of high school. This not only helped me become grounded spiritually, but led to the college I attended, where I met my husband. To this day I don’t know who they are, but I think I might have an idea.

The woman who served with a smile almost every time the church had a function involving food.

People who may never have taught a class or preached a message, but who prayed or shared a quiet word of encouragement.

People who do their jobs with excellence and a good attitude, who are a balm after dealing with people who don’t.

My grandfather used to say, “God must love common folks, He made so many of us.”

Most of us are “common folks.” But God loves us and can use us in our everyday ordinary ways to minister to others and glorify Him.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on March 14, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Some of the good blogging found this week:

God’s Faithful Sovereignty When Things Don’t Go As Planned. “My husband and I have two failed adoptions, chronic illness, and an unexpected mission field exodus to our names. Things not going as planned? I may be an unwilling expert on the subject. But it turns out, being an expert on disappointment can mean possessing a deep appreciation for the goodness of God’s sovereignty.”

God’s Desires:How to Know God’s Will in Difficult Decisions. “How do I know whether to marry this person or choose this or that career? Does God have desires about these decisions? Of course He does. We use the phrase “God’s will” to refer to these desires. God is not AI that coldly calculates a direction based on probability and past outcomes of similar situations. He has desires. He grieves, loves, weeps and wills. As Christians, we want to know what God wants in every decision we make. But how?”

Weak at Work: How God Supplies Our Strength. “While ministry often provides opportunities to enter personal lives of those under your care, all jobs require things of us that we may not feel able or willing to give. We lie awake at night worried about finances, projects, or relationships with clients because working as unto the Lord is HARD work.”

Christlike Work in a Burnout Society, HT to the Story Warren. “In our desperation to maximize productivity, he argues, we’ve become a society defined by voluntary self-exploitation. Achievement addiction has led to emotional exhaustion. Today, many are ashamed of their failure to advance in their careers, frustrated over being underpaid, or bored from long hours of menial tasks. Maybe you’re afraid because of your industry’s direction, or perhaps you wonder if your work is valuable. In the malaise of modern work, God offers us a hopeful alternative.”

You Can Always Come Back to Church, HT to Challies. Glenna talks about the awkwardness she felt returning to the gym after a long absence and compares that to coming back to church.

Roots and Wings. “Rather than feeding them, these stories threatened to poison their imaginations and turn them inward instead of upward. Yet what to do? What could keep them from being caught in our collective cultural drift, circling that drain that threatens to spiral ever-inward? How could I resist its insidious strength? I wanted better for them.”

The Passage in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Tolkien Couldn’t Read Without Weeping, HT to the Story Warren. “Kreeft reflects on the nature of hope, contrasting ordinary hope with what he calls deep hope. Ordinary hope is often rooted in calculation. A bet on good odds. It’s the hope that arises when success is still a possibility, no matter how unlikely. But deep hope is different. It’s the kind of hope that arises after ordinary hope dies. Hope against hope.”

Janette Oke Wrote Her First Novel at 42. Then She Wrote 70 More, HT to Linda. Janette Oke launched me on my journey of reading Christian fiction. I enjoyed reading about her not only for that reason, but for encouragement as an aspiring writer starting later in life.

Note: I read from a wide variety of sources and may not endorse everything from any particular site.

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. C. S. Lewis

Spiritual Maturity Is Dependent

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Whether we have our own children, or nieces and nephews, or friends’ children, or little ones at church, we expect to see them grow. Even though we marvel at how quickly they seem to grow, we would be concerned if they didn’t.

We also assume that children will grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Moms might miss the cute antics of their little ones, but they’d be alarmed if their teenagers acted like toddlers.

Though there is an aspect of grief when children become adults and leave home, there is anticipation, too. We look forward to seeing what God will do in their lives.

As much as we miss our kids when they move away from home, we know something is wrong if they’re forty and still living in their parents’ basement, playing video games most of the day.

Maturity in the children we’re close to seems to be measured by their ability to stand on their own two feet–to function successfully as adults on their own. Though we welcome their coming to us for advice, and we love to help them in any way we can, we know we won’t be around forever.

Spiritually, though, we don’t grow independent from God. We don’t become spiritual adults as we move away from Him to live our own lives.

Instead, we grow spiritually when we realize how little we actually have control over, when we’re aware we need God every moment of every day. We grow more dependent on God as we mature.

How do we mature spiritually?

We take in His Word. 1 Peter 2:2, NKJV: “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” Acts 20:32: “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.“

We grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord. 2 Peter 3:16-18: “There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

We pray. Colossians 1:9-10: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

We learn from the leaders God gave the church. Ephesians 4:11-13: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

We develop discernment by learning to distinguish between good and evil. Hebrews 5:12-14: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

Renew our minds. Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.“

Behold Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

What does spiritual maturity look like?

Stability. Ephesians 4:14: “That we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

Awareness of our weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Endurance and hope. Romans 5:3-4: “Endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Fruit of the Holy Spirit evident in our lives. Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

Jesus. Ephesians 4:13: “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Maturity doesn’t always accompany age. Some older people aren’t very mature at all, and some young people can display remarkable maturity. But the good news is, whatever stage we are in now, we can grow spiritually and become more and more like Christ.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on February 14, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I haven’t had as much time online as usual this week, but I did find these thought-provoking reads:

It’s Your Destiny: Don’t Make This Mistake. Salvation isn’t a matter of just saying the right words. The author gives some sad examples of those who thought it did.

Old Advice for a New Year, HT to The Story Warren. “In the typical flurry of secular articles about the new year, two messages seem loudest. Half the articles triumphantly declare that this can be the year you become the best version of yourself and achieve your dreams. The other half reject the hustle; they tell you that you’re enough as you are and that you should enjoy life instead of striving. These messages seem like opposites, but they share an important thread: self-focus. As Christians, we ought to consider every turning of the season in light of God’s wisdom, not our own.”

New Season, New Surrender. Though this is written in the context of missions, it’s true for all of us that surrendering to the Lord is not a “one and done thing.” Courtney shares truths that helped her with new areas to surrender as well as old ones that needed to be given to the Lord continually.

Are You Ready? This was linked in the article above, but I wanted to share it separately. J. C. Ryle asks if hearers are ready for whatever a new year might bring, good or bad, and shares how to get ready.

How God Met Me the Night my Kindergartner Went Missing. Debbie shares how God’s Word helped her in a scary situation.

The Songs I Once Found Dreary, HT to Challies. “There is something deeply comforting when someone enters our context and realizes the weight with us. Lament calls on the Lord to do just that. Isn’t this how God desires us to come? Not with tidy understanding or facades of strength but with full disclosure. Lament, then, is not weakness but actually the evidence of trust and our union with Christ.“

Living as a Woman Loved by God. “The difference between those two women is not personality or temperament. It’s not confidence, charm, or social instinct. The difference is whether they are living as women who know they are loved by God. To live this way is to live from fullness rather than from lack. It’s to move through rooms—and relationships—without grasping, because you’ve already been given in Him what your heart is tempted to seek elsewhere.”

This is as good a time as any for my occasional reminder that linking to or from someone doesn’t always indicate total endorsement.

True love ennobles and dignifies the material labors of life; and homely services rendered for love’s sake have in them a poetry that is immortal. — Harriet Beecher Stowe

Laudable Linkage

Posted on February 7, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Some of the blog posts that stood out to me this week:

Who Christ Says I Am: Embracing My Identity. “I don’t know about you, but one of the biggest things that makes me feel loved is how I’m spoken to. What a person calls me has great power to make me feel cherished and to affect the perception of my identity. That’s why it’s so important to look for identity in the right places. I should say the right place because the One who made and redeemed me is the only One who can give me identity.”

Teach Your Kids What to Think, HT to Challies. “You say, ‘But I don’t want to teach my kids what to think, I just want to teach them how to think.’ Yes! You should teach them how to think. But not teaching them what to think communicates something to them. It communicates something about truth. If I’m not willing to teach them what to think, then I am most certainly teaching them that truth is something that can be decided on.”

Scheduling Hospitality: Making Space for Others In Our Calendars. “Most of us acknowledge that hospitality is a wonderful thing. We desire to do it. But if we wait until it’s convenient or feel like doing it, we probably never will. That’s why there was a time when my husband and I decided to invite people over every other Sunday. If we put it on the calendar and invited people, we couldn’t back out.”

Is the Cultural and Historical Context of Scripture Necessary, Helpful, or Distracting? “Yes, depending on the text being studied and the background information being used, historical and cultural context can be necessary, helpful, or distracting. On the whole, I think that it is normally helpful. Sometimes, in the rarest of circumstances, it is necessary. When theologians and academics are careless or ideologically driven, it can be distracting or worse.” The author shares some examples of each.

Softly, Softly, Break a Bone, HT to Challies. A couple of sweet stories about how “a soft tongue will break a bone.” (Proverbs 25:15).

It’s OK to be Obsessed with Something. “Parents of young children can often scold themselves for getting distracted over things like these: little side trips into things that interest them for one reason or another. But I want to encourage you: it’s good for you to be curious. It’s good for you to be interested. Maybe it’s good for you to be a little bit obsessed with something or other.”