Mel Lawrenz

“A voice is heard in Ramah,weeping and great mourning,Rachel weeping for her childrenand refusing to be comforted,because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:18 On a dark day King Herod the Great ordered the killing of all male children two years and younger in Bethlehem in what has been called “The Massacre of the […]

from Prayers for Our Lives: 95 Lifelines to God for Everyday Circumstances A PRAYER FOR THE WORLD Do you not know?Have you not heard?Has it not been told you from the beginning?Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,and its people are like grasshoppers.He stretches out

Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised…. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is

“Your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.” That’s what God said about Cain murdering his brother Abel, a consequence of “sin crouching at the door; desiring to have you” (Genesis 4). Today naked aggression threatens to continue to spill much blood in Ukraine. And the blood of innocent victims once again cries out

_________________________ Some people live their lives disconnected from reality. There is nothing solid beneath their feet because their view of life is based on some fantasy. They may have been raised on lies and so they perpetuate the pattern, believing that there is no one who tells the truth, so why even try to find

GOD IS GREAT “If there were no God, there would be no Atheists.” G. K. Chesterton  God is great; God is good; and we thank him for our food.  Amen. I must have spoken those simple words hundreds of times at the dinner table when I was a child, but I most certainly did not understand

Mel Lawrenz is Teaching Pastor at Elmbrook Church and the author of A Better Year Ahead? Opening Our Eyes to Hope (revised edition), looking ahead to 2022. This time last year we were all thinking how difficult 2020 was and that it will be so good to get to 2021. Yet 2021 presented its own challenges,

For a limited time the devotionals Christmas Joy: A Devotional and Christmas Joy for Kids are available at half price on Amazon. If you are a group leader, a teacher, a pastor, or other leader, this is a good way to preview these devotionals if you wish to consider them for this year. (These devotionals

FREE – Ten prayers in PDF booklet. Who do you know who would benefit from prayers for times of grief, illness, or loss? This FREE PDF has ten prayers, six for adults and four for kids, who are dealing with grief, illness, or loss. The ten prayers are: -When Someone Is Ill-When We Are Ill-When

[adapted from A Chronicle of Grief: Surviving Traumatic Loss by Mel Lawrenz, IVP 2020] Sometimes people say that their severe loss is like a hole in their hearts. It is so hard to describe that empty space, that tear in the fabric of the universe. When it happens we struggle to adjust to something or