Sin | Laurie Coombs

Archive for the ‘Sin’ 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…

Is God Really Faithful? AND Some News

Posted on: October 15th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

I’m super excited to share some incredible news on the heels of the article I recently wrote called, Living Victoriously in the Messy Middle. What I’m about to share serves as an example to what was written in that article, particularly the point I made about doubts. So anyway, here’s the news! The Coombs Family adoption has taken a bit of a twist. Just under a month ago, my husband Travis said, “If God wants us to adopt, He’s gonna have to drop something in our lap.” Famous last words, it seems. Not more than a few days later, it happened. A wonderful little bundle of joy was dropped in our lap. A baby girl, only a few weeks old, in Uganda. For those of you just tuning in, we’ve been pursuing an adoption in Ethiopia for the past five years, not Uganda. Hence, the twist of this incredibly wonderful, yet immensely difficult, faith-testing journey….

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…

It Is for Freedom That We Are Set Free

Posted on: January 29th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

There’s a song that I just can’t get out of my head. It’s called “I Am Set Free” and is written and performed by All Sons and Daughters. The chorus is what keeps playing a loop in my mind continually. In fact, I’ve even woken up hearing the lyrics several nights in a row: “I am set free oh oh oh oh I am set free oh oh oh oh It is for freedom that I am set free.” It is for freedom that I am set free––words echoing a truth, written by Paul long ago to the churches in Galatia, that said, “For freedom Christ has set us free…” But I love what comes next in this verse–– “…stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (5:1). I think we all have a tendency to slip back into old habits, back into things we’ve been freed from. When I read the…

A Son Was Given

Posted on: December 23rd, 2014 by Laurie Coombs

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). A son, born to die––heaven sent––lay swaddled in a feeding trough. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). Immanuel––God with us. Christ the child, through whom salvation had finally come. I will provide a way, whispered God to His beloved. I will not leave you, nor will I forsake you. For, you are Mine. A promise, whispered throughout the ages, was fulfilled in that moment through the birth of this child––this beautiful child, full of grace––the Light of the world. And on that first Christmas morn, light shone like never before into the darkness, terrifying and commanding the powers of darkness to flee. But…

I Am Not a Victim

Posted on: November 17th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

The following is a repost of one of my most popular posts that I’ve edited and revised a bit. I believe it contains important truths for each of us to consider. What I’d like you to take away from this article more than anything else is this: we are not victims. “Victim” is not our identity. We may have been on the receiving end of evil, but that evil does not change our identity. Far too many people carrying the heavy label of victim around on their shoulders. Far too many of us are crushed beneath the weight of this false identity. It’s time to free ourselves. I never intended to be a victim. Shortly after my dad was murdered, my family and I were referred to the victim services department at the courthouse. It was the first time we were called victims, but I honestly didn’t consider myself to be…

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…

Loving Your Enemies {A sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.}

Posted on: September 19th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs

love your enemies, how to love your enemies, martin luther king jr

I don’t usually share sermons on my blog, but I came across a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that’s pertinent to each of us. This may not be something you’re dealing with at the moment, but I guarantee, at some point in your life, you will be called to love your enemy, and so I encourage you to read the excerpts of his sermon below. It’s well worth the read. Loving Your Enemies A sermon delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama on November 17, 1957. …So I want to turn your attention to this subject: “Loving Your Enemies.” It’s so basic to me because it is a part of my basic philosophical and theological orientation—the whole idea of love, the whole philosophy of love. In the fifth chapter of the gospel as recorded by Saint Matthew, we read these…

Fail Fast and Forget about It

Posted on: July 23rd, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

I recently heard a pastor say, “Fail fast and forget about it.”* It made me smile and think about what Paul wrote to the Philippians, the scripture I used in my last post, where he said, Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:12-14 I know I’m stating the obvious, but we all fail. Everyone of us has failed in the past, and more failures are sure to come to us in the future. Failure, after all, is a given. We are imperfect sinners in need of God’s…

Beauty Can Be Found in Death or A Call to Come and Die

Posted on: October 8th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

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Autumn is a favorite time of year for many. Breathtaking colors––vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges––saturate our once-green world for a short time before life gives way to death. It’s beautiful, really. But what’s even more beautiful are the truths exemplified through this process. Truth is, beauty can be found even in death. Scripture tells us we will be given beauty for our ashes. Even in death, Christ followers are promised life. This is why Jesus had to die––to bring us life. True life comes through death. [Tweet that] Jesus told us––as He willingly walked toward the cross, knowing the fate that awaited Him––that “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:24-25, emphasis mine). Jesus was referring to His own death…