Reflections on the Death of Our Little Dog

Last night we had to do what all dog lovers dread.

Four Ways Jesus' Resurrection Gives Us Hope

What would you say to Christians you know are being persecuted? If you knew their property, families, and lives were in jeopardy, what would you tell them?

Personally I would be inclined to offer words of comfort. “I’m so sorry you’re suffering. I’ll pray that God will deliver you…hang in there.”

But here’s what the Apostle Peter said to believers who were undergoing just such suffering:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:3-7

Though there is plenty of comfort in the letter Peter wrote, he starts with the glorious, living hope we have because of Jesus’ resurrection. There are at least four wonderfully transforming truths we should celebrate on Resurrection Sunday:

Four Steps to Climb Out of a Pit of Depression

Mark Alan Williams, one of my oldest and closest friends, has a great blog you should read called Making Life Count. Here's a guest post from Mark that should encourage all of us. Thanks for writing this, Mark!

While planting my first church I experienced the worst depression of my life. It seemed as though I had worked so hard with such minimal results. I felt like a terrible failure.

At meals I hardly spoke and stared blankly. I was too embarrassed to share my feelings. I suffered silently, miserably and alone.

Sadly, I even doubted God’s love and His Word. This caused me to question whether I should be a pastor. My negative doubts and thoughts threw me into a tailspin of confusion and despair.

I was stuck in the pit of depression.

My Times are In His Hands

I’m at an age when the road ahead is a lot shorter than the one I have already traveled. So I think a lot about the years past, maybe more than I should. The other night I was praying about this, and I started meditating on Psalm 31:15a: My times are in your hand.

I have often shared this beautiful verse in funeral services. It’s a reminder that, when a believer dies, it is in the Lord’s timing. But there is more to it than that. All our times are in His hand. He holds the past just as much as He holds the future.  

This is a great antidote for regret, an encouragement against melancholy for days gone by, and a steadying, peaceful foundation for what’s ahead.

I think about my early years, growing up on a ranch in Western Colorado. My parents were full of enterprise and hope in those days, and my memories are idyllic and warm, filled with animals and apple trees and satisfying work. But small farms have a hard time turning a profit, and after ten years Dad had to sell. We moved closer to town, and life was never the same. But those times are in His hands.

My teen years were filled with pain – Dad’s death, Mom’s struggle to recover from it. But those times are in His hands.

I have a tendency to worry about opportunities I might have missed, and to obsess about “what if.” Maybe if I’d tried harder, worked longer, struck out more boldly, risked more, I would have accomplished more for Christ. But those times, and the fruit of them, are all in His hands.

Then there’s this week, there's tomorrow, and the pressure of right now. I have decisions to make, meetings to prepare for, people to pray for and encourage. It’s a busy time. But it’s all in His hands.

And of course there is the future, “when time shall be no more, and the morning breaks eternal bright and fair.” That time is in His hands.

Often I don’t understand my times, but I do know something about His hands.  I know why they bear such terrible scars. They are good hands, and I am glad to be in them.