cross of Christ

side view of an elderly woman contemplating

Lord, replace my thoughts…with Your “instead of” blessing

Lord Jesus, Messiah and King, Great God! from thee there’s nought concealed, Thou seest my inward frame; To thee I always stand revealed Exactly as I am. (“Access to God in Christ,” Newton, J., p.d. Sing to the tune of “Joy to the World!”) You see my suffering, You see Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago
text on a white paper

A needed day of Selah in the Psalms, with Jesus

Selah: Pause and calmly think of that (AMPC) In music, selah is part of the song of our short, vaporous, earthly lives (Ps 39:4-5) The needed pause. A deep breath for the next long phrase. The conductor cuts the sound off into quiet. Release. Lift up the hand from the keys, the Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago
cross in a mountain valley

What can we sing when we fear more suffering?

David was afraid. Of course! Running for his life, leaving his loved ones and home behind, living off the land, he hid in fear of attack and death at the hands of his enemy. For 20 years, scholars say. Vulnerable. Humbled. Lonely. Living in darkness. Dependent on God’s grace. For Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago
close up photo of bare hands

My suffering Savior’s songs of lament and hope

As my unmanaged chronic pain escalated on top of needed caregiving tasks, with long travel to help loved ones, and grief in losing a loved one…all at the same time…our Lord had already been inviting me to study the Psalms through my daily Bible reading plan. This time, He’d prompted Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago

Rest in the gospel, into loss and grief

Grief’s shock. Another loss? Affecting children, grandchildren? Emotion’s waves and storms. Exponential, thickening layers of pain. Overwhelmed. Darkness threatens to stifle joy and hope.  May this prayer be His rest in the gospel if you are also grieving losses. As I suffer, in my unrest, rest in the gospel Thy Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago
ethnic sister and brother in angel costumes touching decorative clouds

Can we hear the angels sing into our suffering Christmas?

This week’s Christmas carol resonates. It sings of tragedy, tribulation, suffering upon suffering. It sings of the evil wreckage that we all experience in this fallen and broken world that’s groaning under the weight of sin and its effects on everyone. Including believers in Christ. But it also sings of Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago
people on dinner during ramadan

Thanking God for Jesus when I’m under attack

How I’ve desperately needed to sing daily of our Redeemer’s propitiating work on the cross as I suffer. When I’m under attack, I need to remember that He became sin in my place and completely took all the punishment for sin that I deserve.  Jesus paid it all, All to Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago
human standing beside crucifix statue on mountain

Have you ever heard of spiritual depression? 

Particularly when our bodies suffer from chronic illness or ongoing fatigue and stress, we can become prone to what Martin Lloyd-Jones describes as “spiritual depression” or joyless unhappiness, a temptation of Satan for a believer.  My harp on yonder willow lies, Silent, neglected, and unstrung; My cheerful songs are turned Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago
crucifix on the roadside

Suffering and constant stress in this fallen world…with Jesus

I’ve pondered this question over the many years of my earthly suffering: How does the gospel apply to our daily lives? How does the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ have personal relevance to our times of suffering and constant stress as we live in this fallen Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago
sleeping newborn baby in cozy nursery setting

Christ in us, spiritually safe, in this fallen world

Last week, I talked about how God had me insert “chronically ill” into my reading of His Word. In my current suffering, every Scripture then comes to life, real and applied to my cries. No shame, no fear, but so loved by our Lord as He speaks tenderly to the Read more

By Lauri Hogle, ago

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