Do you know someone who doesn’t know how to listen? I became acquainted with a kind man who worked at a grocery store I frequented. Every time he saw me, he would stop what he was doing and head my way.
All in Love
Divine Lenses
There is no doubt in my mind that Jonah had a greater than passing acquaintance with the LORD. After all, he was a prophet with whom God shared His mind. The Hebrew for know is “yada: to know by experience”.
Forty More Days
And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land (2:10). Whew, a bit of drama! In my mind’s eye I see Jonah shaking off the gastric juices of that big fish with a shudder. What a relief!
God will Provide
The trio is back…the mother, the father and their fledgling Cardinals. They regularly visit the platform bird feeder. I like to study their interactions.
From Disappointment to Adoration
Disappointment—that which we experience when expectations or wishes are not met. All of us face numerous disappointments throughout life—someone says something that hurts, a project fails, an illness interrupts plans… The list could go on and on. How do you handle disappointment?
Joy to the World…the Son provided purification
“Joy to the world! The Lord is come.” Having created the universe in the beginning (1:2), and having sustained all things in the meantime (1:3), Jesus did precisely what He had come to do. He came “to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.” The curse of original sin had most certainly left the proving ground of mankind’s soul a thorny mess that only a Savior could uproot. So the Son came to earth and provided purification for sins. He paid our penalty in full. Now that’s a reason to joyfully sing!
God’s Lavish Gifts
When I was young, my family rarely went to a restaurant to eat. But on one special occasion, my parents took us to a restaurant that was filled with various buffets. Salad and fruit buffets were in one area. Vegetable and meat buffets were nearby. And my favorite, of course, were the dessert buffets that I remember as taking up an entire room. Lavish quantities of food were everywhere! I wanted to try it all (well, most of it), but the abundance was too great. I couldn’t even sample it all.
The Love of God
God is love (1 John 4:8). God and love are synonymous, like God and good. God always loves because He is love. We can’t know true love apart from God since love comes from God (1 John 4:7). Whatever love we experience from others is a reflection of God’s love. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
How Then Can We Live…fix your thoughts on Jesus
Holy brothers—oh my goodness! Yet that is what we are. We, you and I and those Judean believers, are holy—sacred, pure, blameless by Christ’s atonement (2:17). We are set apart to live as holy, separated from sin, since we confess Jesus as our apostle and high priest. And we share in the heavenly calling: to confess Jesus as apostle and high priest to all who will listen, so they too may be holy.
God Understands Us Even When We Don’t Understand Ourselves!
The Tops in Texas rodeo has been a local happening for 59 years in the small East Texas town of Jacksonville. One of the newer, and more popular events, however, is Mutton Busting, which lets children under ten attempt to ride a sheep bareback for six seconds. Sound easy? Those of us unfamiliar with sheep may think so. Remember Mary’s docile little lamb with fleece as white as snow? Not so these Mutton Busting beasts.
A Father's Love
While cutting my son’s long, thick locks, I thought, I’m glad he doesn’t ride through the woods or he might get tangled up like Absalom. Do you remember the story?
A Labor of Love
An ambulance arrived at my house. My son, David, had had a seizure and had taken a pretty hard fall. He dislocated his shoulder and gashed his chin. Before loading my son into the ambulance, the paramedics informed us they would be cutting David’s sweatshirt off to care for his shoulder.
God’s Wisdom
I’ve spent the last several weeks reading and re-reading my favorite passages in Paul’s letter to the Roman believers. I wanted those profound truths to sink into my heart and mind—salvation, redemption, Holy Spirit empowerment, intercession and sovereignty. Paul’s Hymn of Praise perfectly captured how I felt about all I had read.
Cracker Box Christmas
My grandmother loved to give everyone in the family Christmas gifts. As much as possible she made them by hand. She might make house shoes, hot pan holders, or doilies. She might even go so far as to buy a pair of socks for each of the guys.
Great Love
“You know, it’s all about love.” A simple statement uttered by a simple man, my dad, as he lay languishing on his deathbed. After all his years of working, serving and living, he had discovered the importance of life.
I Am Secure
The day Drew moved out followed ten months of limbo. It had been an awful day. The kids cried themselves to sleep. It was late when Dana climbed into bed. She sat propped up on her side of the double bed and opened her Bible. She hadn’t planned to read Romans 8, but the words were there for her that night.
God’s words touched her gently, much like the romantic gesture of being presented a single, long-stemmed red rose.
I Am Wanted
Eight months had passed since Drew’s and Dana’s ten-year marriage started to unravel. Uncharacteristically, Drew accompanied Dana and the children to church one Sunday morning. It was Valentine’s Day.
The service was unremarkable until the associate pastor announced he would be teaching on romantic love from Song of Solomon.
I Am Beautiful
Drew and Dana began marriage counseling with a Christian counselor soon after their move. Drew finally admitted to having an extramarital affair. As devastating as the news was, Dana expressed the willingness to forgive him. Her commitment to keep their family intact held steady. Drew wanted a separation, but he took no action to move out.
I Am Valuable
Following Drew’s confession that he didn’t love her, Dana’s feelings continued to reel. She felt lost at sea one moment and anchored by faith the next. Soon thereafter, Drew received his new job assignment that required moving fifteen hundred miles away.
I Am Loved
Dana felt sweet anticipation as the day began. It was her 10th wedding anniversary. Drew, her husband, was home from completing some out-of-town professional training for his new job. The last few months they’d only spent a few weekends together so she was excited about celebrating today.