Brothers, What are we to make of this? “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” Romans 5:3–5 Read it slowly. How can suffering lead to hope? When we stay near Jesus in our hardship and keep going, God grows perseverance. Perseverance forms character, the lived truth of who w

Brothers, Some people say they can feel the rain before it comes. The air shifts, the wind changes, creation gets quiet. Elijah lived in that kind of moment. After fire fell on Mount Carmel, with no cloud in sight, he said, “There is the sound of a heavy rain” (1 Kings 18:41). But when his servant looked, there was nothing. So Elijah climbed higher, bowed lower, and prayed. Not once, but again and again, until a cloud the size of a man’s hand appeared and the sky finally brok

Brothers, The last two weeks I was traveling with my family to the 24-7 Prayer conference in Stuttgart, taking time to read, pray, and reflect. There is much to be thankful for, and you are one of those gifts. During a breakout with my friend Alain Emerson, a pastor from Northern Ireland, this verse gripped me: 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. “As one approved” i

Brothers, From here in France to far beyond, Gen Z (13–28) is streaming back to the Church, hungry for depth. At Refuge we’re seeing it...