Dear Aletha, For me, knowing if I’m hearing God is a common dilemma. I have a quiet whisper in my mind or a soft impression on my heart, and I wonder if it’s God. Could it be my own inner thoughts? Or Satan? How can I distinguish God’s voice from other internal impressions I “hear”? Lori Dear...

David found the most unusual times to praise the Lord. Psalm 34 was written regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech. This was probably not the happiest time in his life. David “was afraid…so he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard” (1...

Dear Aletha, My devotions have been especially dry lately. I feel as though I have not really been fed spiritually for a long time. I would love to spend an extended time alone with Jesus. What do you suggest I do to make the block of time a fresh encounter with God? Fern Dear Fern, For nearly a...

God's visitations in the Bible were frequently symbolized by fire. His visitations still often come as fire--a purifying fire. I am longing for such a visitation. Will you join me in praying for God to come as a refiner's fire? "Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple ......

This week I am reading comments in Great Holiness Classics, Volume 1 on 1 Timothy 1:5: “Now the end of the commandment is love, out of a pure heart." Here are a few thoughts that I am feasting on: God does not require of us great skill or great ability; it is only love that He asks from us. And...

Dear Aletha, My husband and I have been asked to leave the church we have pastored for five years. We had no inkling our parishioners were discontented. Then—wham! We were fired and don’t even know why. We feel so low we could slide under the door. Sometimes I think I can forgive. At other times...

     A few months ago my husband and I attended a funeral of a Jesuit priest. The funeral was on a Tuesday morning in St. Louis about five hours from our home, so we drove over on Monday evening. On Tuesday morning while in the hotel a friend called saying she had just read a...

In the Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy saw the lion Aslan and began to follow him. The others could not see him at first, but the longer they followed, the more visible Aslan became to them. Similarly, the more we seek to focus on, delight in, and seek the guidance of the Spirit within, the more His...

Dear Aletha, All during my married life, I have not only been a victim of verbal and emotion abuse but also an abuser. I truly think that my husband and I are both at fault in our relationship. Throughout almost 22 years of marriage, he has almost never helped me grow spiritually and has almost...

Occasionally God's love is amazingly evident. Recently Jana, a physician who trained under my husband, told him the following account. About seven years ago she and her husband adopted a baby, knowing he had cerebral palsy and would be crippled. One Christmas evening, she read to him about Jesus...