Online Discipleship

  What do we do when we see moral failure in a Christian, especially a Christian leader? Maybe you have seen news come out recently about Philip Yancey, a Christian author and speaker who has influenced Christian thought and teaching through his writing that spans from 1982 to the last few years. Yancey recently confessed to a recent affair that lasted 8 years with a married woman. He stated that he has confessed before God and his wife that he has sinned and that he has withdrawn himself from further ministry. He has started counseling and is focusing the rest of his time on working on his marriage. His wife also made the statement of her hurt and her loss of trust in her husband and her commitment to working through this with Philip because of her vows to him that were made 55 years earlier. She said she knows that Christ's blood has made Philip's forgiveness possible and that she is praying for God to help her reach a place of forgiveness as well. I don't bri...

  Psalm 3:5 "I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the LORD sustains me." Have you ever been asked, "If God is good, where is He?"  This is something I have been thinking through lately. I have family and friends who have recently gone through cancer diagnoses and treatments, the loss of loved ones, and other hardships that can be encountered as one navigates life. Two of my friends are reflecting on Psalm 3:5 as they are navigating their difficult circumstances. A natural reaction to unexpected hardship is to ask the question, "If God is good, where is He when life isn't good?" At its core, I understand this struggle. Watching someone you care about hurt is hard to reconcile with a belief in a God who claims to love. Seeing violence and disasters on the news makes it difficult to believe that God is in complete control. Even just the simple struggle of wondering why God doesn't just appear in the sky to remove any doubt, instead of wanting us...