With apologies to Billy Ray Cyrus . . .

Even though we all have to deal with it, no one likes pain in our bodies, whether in our heads and shoulders or knees and toes. But that pain, which causes groaning now, can turn our focus toward a great hope to come in the future!

From the stars in the sky to the sands on the beaches, creation causes us to be in awe and wonder. But lest we forget, both the creation of God and the children of God are awaiting the redeeming work to come!

Emphysema slowly drained the breath and life out of my mom, but near the end of her life, she found Life! Her children laughed and cried (and healed) their way as her earthly heirs. Praise God for the inheritance that awaits us on the other side of suffering! 

Two nephews, two different perspectives of their own adoptive lives. But they have the same love and gratitude that someone did indeed do the adapting. How much more awed should we be by God’s great adoption!

A harmless childhood legend may or may not be the root of real fear, but let’s face it: real fear does exist today, and unfortunately, it can mess with our hearts and minds. Praise God for the Holy Spirit who gives us all we need to fight that fear.

A mistake in a pick-up point on a fishing trip down a creek leads to a teenage boy being misled and lost for hours. As children of God who are truly led by the Spirit of God, we can never be misled.

As the baby in the family, sometimes you can feel as if you are always in debt to your older siblings. But you can never dismiss the enormous influence they have in your life. Thanks be to the “influence” of the Holy Spirit, we are no longer “in debt” to our sinful nature!

A horrific traffic accident leaves a young man paralyzed, but he is so very grateful to be alive. Let us never take for granted the supernatural life given to us by the Holy Spirit!

From the taunts and bullying due to a childhood speech impediment to being confident in the God who calls us to speak on His behalf, the power of the Spirit of God living within us cannot be underestimated.

Every believer in Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit in them, but not every believer in Jesus Christ is filled with the Holy Spirit. Don’t stop at verse 9; go on to verse 11.

Try as we might, this feline fighter named Smokey was not going to be domesticated. The same can be said of our sinful nature which has always been hostile to God.

A cold, foggy night and a bad defroster in a Chevy Nova equal a DUI stop that had nothing to do with alcohol and a warning for reckless driving. Thanks be to the Spirit of God, we can stay in the “one lane” of power and victory over sin!

With the right amount of forgery and fakery, one can build a life that looks marvelous on the outside but is truly miserable on the inside. Thanks be to the one and only God who can take our misery and turn it into majesty!

A tug-of-war competition as a fourth-grader may have been relatively harmless, except for those awful rope burns on the hands. But as adults, the tug-of-war with sin is serious business that is both frustrating and maddening.

Having great next-door neighbors could make summers fly by, but those darn grapes on the other side of the fence tempted a coveting heart! (With apologies to Marvin Gaye!)

Years of gardening with hands in the dirt help illustrate a valuable lesson about producing a harvest of good deeds for the Kingdom of God.

Living on the edge and taking unwise risks as a teenager may make for some head-shaking memories, but trusting in Jesus Christ versus the wages of our sin is the safest bet of all!

Because of a marriage, righteousness has been the standard. Because of Jesus, righteousness can be our choice.

If basketball is your master, then trash-talking can become an “instrument” to win at any cost. But if the power of sin is really dead, then we have a new Master and we can use our instruments for His glory.

As most of us know, water baptism can be a lightning rod for debate and division. But for one unsuspecting fisherman years ago, it was pretty simple and profound.