Repentance | Laurie Coombs

Archive for the ‘Repentance’ Category

A Bunch of Dirty, Cursed, Lost, Sick, Rebels

Posted on: October 13th, 2017 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

I addressed the question, “Who do you say that Jesus is?” in my most recent article. This was a question Jesus, Himself, asked His disciples after spending some time with them during His earthly ministry. In this article, I wrote of the importance of this question. How your very life hinges on the answer you give to this question. And that if your response is that Jesus is who He said He was in scripture. That He is the Messiah. Immanuel, God with us. The living God. Our Savior. Our Shepherd. Our Counselor. Our Comforter. Our Healer. Our Peace. Our only Hope. Our very life. If this who you define Jesus to be, then it demands every bit of us. We’re to be all in. Not wishy-washy. Not lukewarm. But all in. Shortly after Jesus posed this question to His disciples, we read, “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples…

Letters from My Father’s Murderer is out today!!!

Posted on: June 27th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

Hi friends! Today’s the day Letters from My Father’s Murderer is released! I must say, it’s a bit surreal. This project has been in the works for three and a half years, and it’s finally out for the world to see! If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, you can grab it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or wherever else you like to buy books. It’s available on Kindle and Nook as well, by the way (but not iBooks––whah, whah). If you’re still not convinced enough to pick up a copy, perhaps hearing what others are saying (outside of my friends and family) will give you the nudge you need: “Truthfully, I could not put the book down.” – Dan “Powerful! …This is a must read.” – Page “Been reading every spare minute…. I honestly had a hard time putting it down.” – Patty “Cannot put the book down! I started it last…

The Cost of Discipleship

Posted on: December 5th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs

Jesus came that we might have life. And life to the full. He came to bind up the brokenhearted. To bring good news to the poor. To proclaim liberty to the captives. To provide for our every need. To love us. To care for us. To provide a home for our wondering heart. He calls to the people. “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). “Come, follow Me,” He says (Matthew 19:21). “Learn from Me…and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). Promising to guide us into His will for our lives, He beckons us to follow. We’re called to be disciples. Followers of Christ––the living God––but discipleship comes at a cost. All that stuff I wrote above is pleasant to the ear. We like hearing the truth of God’s promise to love and care for us. To restore us to wholeness and healing. These…

Watch “Heaven: A New Message from Billy Graham!”

Posted on: November 6th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” – Isaiah 40:9 “Heaven” has been released! The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has done an incredible job with this powerful, thirty minute message, and I wanted to take a moment to share it with you. Quite honestly, I am still humbled to have been a part of this project. It’s unbelievable, really. Billy Graham has been an inspiration to me in my faith, as he has been to millions of others, since my early days as a new Christian. I remember reading his book, The Journey: Living by Faith in an Uncertain World (affiliate link), just about one year after coming to Christ. I was looking for answers, trying to figure out how to do…

A Story of Hope

Posted on: October 23rd, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

My family and I attend a church here in Reno called Life Church. It’s an amazing church full of people sold out for Jesus. And I love that! Our pastors have been teaching a series on hope, using the recently release book The Hope Quotient by Ray Johnston. Shortly before the series began, my pastor and I had spoken to one another about bringing my story to our church. And after a while, he asked if I’d be willing to film a short video to be used during this series to illustrate the truth that hope can be found on the other side of tragedy. To show that God does, in fact, work all things for good for those who know and love Him. I’m sharing that video here with you today, and I pray God uses it as He intends to bring greater perspective and hope and light to those who need it. Laurie…

Choose Life

Posted on: July 31st, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. – Deuteronomy 30:19-20 We don’t often like to talk about obedience. It’s simply not a popular topic to address. Quite honestly, I don’t think any of us naturally want to obey God. We all seem to have this thing in us that wants to go it alone. To do our own thing. To be masters of our own domain and live our lives however we so choose. Even the thought of having…

Deeper Surrender

Posted on: December 17th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 8 Comments

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I thought I had surrendered to God, but it turns out, I haven’t. At least not completely. I seem to be living out the early stages of God’s call on my life. Every day I wake up, I pray for God to use me and for God to show me the way with willing intent to following His lead, which is why I honestly thought I was living a life surrendered to God. But recently, God has made it clear that my level of surrender is not absolute. Up to this point, I have surrendered only in part. Though I stand willing to do that which God calls me to do, I still want control over my time and how it’s allocated. I must confess; I am not very interruptible. I’ve noticed this before, but it’s become increasingly clear over the past week as certain situations have challenged me to…

Is It Time to Right Some Wrongs?

Posted on: July 9th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs

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There comes a time that we need to right the wrongs we’ve committed against others. [Tweet that] I was a baby Christian when this time came for me. Jesus whispered the words “it’s time to forgive,” and I began to search my soul. Anthony––the man who murdered my dad––was the obvious one that needed my attention, but there were others I needed to forgive as well. My unforgiving heart ran deep. There was the girl I hated in high school. There was the man who witnessed for the defense in my dad’s murder trial yet had once called my dad friend. There was my dad’s ex-wife. And there were even some family members. Apparently, this German-Irish girl knew how to hold onto grudges. But it was time to let them go. [Tweet that] As I did, I was given perspective, and I began to see how my behavior contributed to the issues…

Romans 8:28 Rings True

Posted on: May 6th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs

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Last Thursday began like most days. Toward the end of my quiet time with Jesus, my girls came into my bedroom in all their morning cuteness, blurry-eyed and hair a fright. We cuddled together for a moment before beginning our morning routine of showering, dressing, and the like. My girls usually finish getting ready before I do, so they ran downstairs, busying themselves with coloring and drawing in the kitchen. Moments later, however, I heard Avery, my younger daughter, yell, “Mom, Ella poked me with a pencil!” To which Ella replied, “But it wasn’t very hard!” Really?!? I thought. It was all going so well. Turns out, Ella intentionally “poked” or stabbed (to be more exact) Avery with a pencil. Not okay in my book. But after disciplining Ella, we had a serious talk about hurting others. Ella is seven. Up to this point, we have taught her about Jesus, we’ve talked…

Love Comes First

Posted on: May 2nd, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 10 Comments

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I received a letter from Anthony (the man who murdered my dad) a couple weeks ago. In it, he said, “I also know you feel as I do, if only one person read [our testimony] and came to Jesus because of it, because of our pain, tears, repentance, and forgiveness, all of it was worth it.” Anthony is right. And He got me thinking. If our story saves one––only one––I do believe my efforts to share what God has done is all worth it. Yet, I also believe Jesus called me to share this story with many. In fact, I believe I’m called to write a book about it. What It Takes to Publish Today When writing a book, you hear a lot about the need to build a “platform” or establish a “tribe” of followers who engage with you both on your blog and on social media (Twitter, Facebook,…