Some years ago, back in Africa, Nigeria, I became a Christian at twelve, accepting and confessing Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. From the moment I did that, I knew that something in me was no longer the same, and a significant change had occurred deep inside me. I was a seventh grader...
First, I give thanks and glory to our Lord that makes everything possible through his loving grace and thanks to GPBC for the privilege of contributing again to this blog. This time around I would like to share about what GPBC and the Lord have taught me in my Christian faith. I think what is...
The possibility of transformation is the essence of hope. Psychologist Aaron Beck says that the single belief most toxic to a relationship, be it a marriage or a friendship, is the belief that the other person cannot change. John Ortberg, in his book The Life You’ve Always Wanted...
I was raised in southeast Idaho in a stable Mormon home. At age 19, I left home to serve a two-year Mormon mission in northern Japan. I held multiple positions of leadership in the Mormon church both before and after my return. At the age of 30, questioning the Mormon faith (and God...
With children returning to school and our landscape aflame with a bright palette of changing colors; fall is upon us. Our lives consist of different seasons! Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us that “for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.” (NRSV) Solomon...
I think we can all relate to stories, so I thought it would be helpful to share with you a story about how a Stephen Minister so wonderfully and personally provided a reminder of God’s presence in the midst of someone’s painful circumstances. We’ve seen this happen over and...
The Bible holds stories that are difficult for us to digest either because, in our eyes, they are too gory, too unkind, too harsh or simply too annoying that God was ok with that!In Genesis, there’s the story of the forbidden fruit and Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Why God would...
I began studying God’s Word in October 1982, when I was invited by a friend to Bible Study Fellowship (which I had never heard of). I had attended church for about three years as a teenager with my family when my dad became a Christian, but I walked away from the church when I...
The summer is almost over! Soon it will be September, and we will be saying goodbye to all this heat and summer fun. Fall will begin to set in and with it will come the cooler days and eventually the rain. Trees will start to lose their leaves in preparation for winter. I was thinking...
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV Last June my dad died. We were not in touch much of my adult years. When he died, It hurt. I was thinking of what we could have...