The top 5 list for 2018

I thought I would wrap up 2018 by doing something that I’ve never done in this blog before: I want to share the top 5 blogs that you have most clicked on in 2018.

#5: On the National Day of Prayer, I wrote a blog called “I cry to You, O Lord” (this is a phrase from Psalm 130).  The heart of that blog was a quote I shared from Abraham Lincoln; he once said, “It is the duty of nations as well as men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with the assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon.”  (Source: http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/fast.htm

#4: In February, there was the blog I entitled Almost a thousand days.  In it, I mentioned how, at that point, it was nearly 1,000 days since my dad passed away.  It is always emotional for me to read the lyrics I included in that blog from the Mercy Me song Finally Home: “Going to wrap my arms around my daddy’s neck and tell him that I missed him, and tell him all about the man that I became, and hope that it pleased him.  There’s so much I want to say, so much I want you to know, when I finally make it home.”

#3: Back in January, I composed a blog installment known as Perspective is everything.  At one point, I mentioned the plight of Nick and Lexi Solder.  Nick was with the New England Patriots at the time of writing that blog.  In 2015, Nick and Lexi’s son, Hudson, was diagnosed with Wilms tumors, a form of kidney cancer.  He was only 3 months old at that time.  This battle is ongoing for Hudson, Nick, and Lexi, even to this day.    Nick Solder’s said, “I have a different perspective now because I see how frail everything is…the air we breathe is precious.”  (Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2017/01/31/nate-solder-son-cancer-new-england-super-bowl-2017/97290770/

#2: In April, I got to thinking about how on April 13, I could write a blog titled Happy 4:13 day to call Philippians 4:13 to mind.  In the blog that day, I said these words:

I would paraphrase [Philippians 4:13] this way: “Whatever situation God has called me to do I can meet it with confidence, not because of my own innate power, but because the Lord will give me His supernatural strength to face it.”  Let me list some examples.  You’ve been hurt deeply by someone.  Your blood boils just at the mere thought of what they said or did.  You want to hold on to the anger, and harbor a secret desire for revenge, but you also know that God says the only way to experience freedom is to forgive the one who hurt you.  The problem is you don’t think you can do it.  The reality is you’re right.  But according to Philippians 4:13, Christ will give you the supernatural power to do it.

And now, (drum roll, please) the most clicked on blog installment I wrote in 2018:

#1: In June, I wrote a blog entitled Perhaps the biggest objection to forgiveness.  I had written two other blogs on forgiveness, and reasoned that someone had this objection: “I can’t forgive because to do so means I will have to reconcile with my offender.  I quoted from Deborah Pegues to refute this idea (and she even posted a kind comment in my blog in response).

She said to extend forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean that you will reconcile with your offender.  You might do so, but if the person isn’t trustworthy or repentant, you don’t have to endeavor to become best friends with them.  I say she is absolutely right.  In fact, in some cases, to reconcile with the offender may be the worst possible idea...Got questions.org has an excellent resource on this.  The author writes, “For example, a rape victim can choose to forgive the rapist, but that does not mean she should act as if that sin never happened.  To spend time alone with the rapist, especially if he is unrepentant, is not what Scripture teaches.  Forgiveness involves not holding a sin against a person any longer, but forgiveness is different from trust.” (Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/forgive-forget.html).

I wanted to thank you, once again, for reading my words.  It is a gift beyond words to me.  I look forward to writing more blogs in 2019.  God bless you, reader.

Kevin