The Bandjoun nomad

You Can Have Friendship with God : "Since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life." (Romans 5:10 NLT) Your relationship to God has many different aspects: God is your Creator and Maker, Lord and Master, Judge, Redeemer, Father, Savior, and much more (Psalm 89:26, 95:6, 136:3; Isaiah 33:22, 47:4; John 13:13; 1 John 3:1; Jude 1:4). But the most shocking truth is this: Almighty God yearns to be your Friend! In Eden we see God's ideal relationship with us: Adam and Eve enjoyed an intimate friendship with God. There were no rituals, ceremonies, or religion - just a simple loving relationship between God and the people he created. Unhindered by guilt or fear, Adam and Eve delighted in God, and he delighted in them. We were made to live in God's continual presence, but after the Fall, that ideal relationship was lost. Only a few people ...

God Is with You in Your Struggle : "Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!" (Luke 24:31 NLT) Ever feel like God is a million miles away? The truth is, he's not. Whatever struggle you're going through, you can rest assured you're not alone. You have God in your corner. But you're not the only one who has ever wondered where God was during a struggle. On the very first Easter morning, right after Jesus' Crucifixion, the disciples wondered the same thing. In Luke 24, we learn about one particular pair of these disciples who were walking down the road to Emmaus, talking about all that had transpired over the past few days - Jesus' arrest, beating, Crucifixion - and trying to make sense of it all. They thought Jesus was the Messiah; their dream was crushed. They had heard reports that Jesus' grave was empty. They were very confused.  Suddenly Jesus himself came alongside the discip...

God's Heart for the Orphan Is His Heart for You : "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families ..." (Psalms 68:5-6 NIV) The gods that the ancient world worshipped were concerned with great people - the mighty and cunning, the swift and the gorgeous. The rest of humanity served as a backdrop - bit players, foils, inconsequential fodder for the grand plans of kings, generals, and deities. Not so with the God of the Bible. We see God's strange interest in the people on the margins carved upon every page of Scripture. It was evident in Yahweh's selection of a nation of slaves to be his special people. It echoed in his choice of sheep-tenders to be the first to hear news of the Incarnation. But perhaps nowhere do we see this curious reality more clearly than in God's passion for the orphan. We may miss how odd it actually is because we live in a culture that is deeply shaped by C...