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Lord Save Us!

Lord Save Us!

Where do you first turn when you face storms that threaten you?  To whom do you run for comfort, solace, advice?  Some run to their best friend; someone that they can commiserate with; someone who will take up their cause and uphold their grievance.  For instance, a married woman whose marriage is failing may turn to another woman, and together they can rage against that “horrible man” or vice versa.  This strategy may ease the aching sense of aloneness for the short term, but it is no solution to the real problem.

Persevere to the End

Persevere to the End

Have you ever gone through a time in your life when it seemed that God was “sleeping” or perhaps so far off you could not reach him?  Many Christians experience dry spells from time to time. They experience the sense of being adrift in a spiritual wilderness, “apart from God.” Even giants of the faith confess to this sense of abandonment.  In one opinion piece, Mother Teresa is described thus: “But there's another aspect of Mother Teresa's life that is slowly coming into focus: her struggles with faith.

Go Forth!

Go Forth!

When Moses died, God gave Joshua the responsibility of leading the children of Israel to the promised land.  This was a frightening prospect for Joshua for a couple of reasons.  He was going to be leading a stubborn people.  They had demonstrated this stubborn streak in the wilderness under Moses’ leadership (Exodus 14:11-12), and he was going to be leading them into unfamiliar enemy territory. Put simply, Joshua had no clue what he was doing.

God Restores

God Restores

When Fanny Crosby, was a little girl, she lost sight in both eyes through a medical mishap. The years that followed were lean, as she learned how to navigate life without her sight.  Instead of becoming bitter, Fanny turned to God and allowed him to work in her situation.  God gave Fanny joy, and a new song in her heart.  Today the Church is much richer for it.  God did not restore Fanny’s physical sight, instead he deepened her spiritual insight into God as a restorative God.  Despite the lean years, Fanny writes in the song, Blessed Assurance, “Visions of rapture now burst on my sight.”

God Speaks

God Speaks

God speaks. There is no question about that.  In the beginning when the earth was still a formless void, God spoke it into being saying, “Let there be… (Genesis 1),” and there was.  The universe bent to God’s power and creation took form.  Throughout the Old Testament he speaks to his people through prophets and Kings.  In these “last days” God has spoken to humanity through his Son.  There is no additional messenger coming.  Jesus is the final Word.  The only question that remains is this: “Are we listening? 

Holy Work

Holy Work

The Bible makes it clear, that work was designed by God for man’s earthly occupation (Gen 2:5).  We are encouraged to be diligent in our work. We are further encouraged to work as unto the Lord, and not as unto man (Col. 3:23). The Bible has a lot to say about work.  It is one of the ways we worship God.  In the story of the man born blind, in John 9, Jesus offers some cryptic advice about work. 

Trusting Prayer

Trusting Prayer

A few months ago, my son began his driving lessons. It has been quite an experience in trusting.  I must admit that while it is easy for me to trust God whom I have not seen, I have yet to master the art of trusting that my son (whom I have seen) knows what he is doing at the wheel. My son is a pretty good driver and yet, sitting in the passenger seat on pins and needles, has made me a formidable prayer warrior.  It has taught me what it means to trust in God’s protection.  Every time we pull up safely into the driveway, I give thanks to God in heaven.

Desperate Faith-All in

Desperate Faith-All in

Jochebed, remember her?  Her name means, the “the Lord is Glory.”  She was the mother of Moses, the man who led the Israelites out of Egypt. Little is known about this woman’s background, but no one can miss her deep and abiding trust in God.  When Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all the Hebrew boys, Jochebed took desperate measures to protect her son.  She put her son in a basket, coated with tar and pitch, and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile? Surely there were crocodiles in the Nile.  Was this abandonment, child abuse, child neglect? 

Happy Mother's Day-2023

Happy Mother's Day-2023

Have you ever seen a hen protecting her young?  She gets vicious.  When she senses a threat to her chicks, she puffs up, spreads her wings, and clucks to alert her young ones to shelter under her protective feathers.   That’s what a mother does.  She protects.  On this Mother’s Day, we stop collectively to honor the phenomenal women who protected us in the womb and then gave us life.  They did not just give us life, they cradled us, nurtured us, continued to protect us, disciplined us, taught us, prayed for us, and hopefully pointed us to, or led us to Christ.  In the end that is all that counts.

And Breathe...

And Breathe...

From time to time, we all need a break from the dizzying pace of modern living.  I realize, this is not a prudent thing to say on a Monday morning when many of us have just returned from the weekend.  However, the break I am referring to goes much deeper than physical rest.  It is a reflective rest, like that which Jesus took on many occasions in the gospels.

Jesus-Lord and Christ

Jesus-Lord and Christ

In a world that is running short on truth, here is an indisputable truth, Jesus is Lord and Christ.  This is the greatest confession we could ever make.  Jesus has dominion and supremacy over any other god.  He is Lord of all.  He is not just one of the variety of ways to get to heaven as some false teachers would have us believe, Jesus is the only way, because he is the risen Lord and God has made him Lord and Christ.

Know Jesus-Know Peace

Know Jesus-Know Peace

If we had been there, when the arrest of Jesus was made, when the persecution became physical, when the taunts and humiliations grew in intensity, perhaps we would not take his offer of peace too lightly.  If we had been there when they nailed Jesus to the cross, offered him vinegar to drink and pierced his side, perhaps we would appreciate the value of the peace he offers.  If we had been there when he breathed his last, and when the curtain was rent in two and he declared “It is finished,” perhaps we would accept his offer of peace.

Tetelestai

Tetelestai

In John’s account of the crucifixion, Jesus utters three simple, but powerful words, “It is finished.”  In Greek this is translated, “Tetelestai,” which is an accounting term that means, “paid in full.”  This was a common, everyday term used in society. It was often stamped on bills to indicate there was no more debt as everything was settled.  When Jesus utters this term on the cross, it was to indicate that the debt which humanity owed God on account of Adam’s sin was finally paid in full. 

Let Freedom Ring!

Let Freedom Ring!

Have you ever owed someone some money?  It weighs on you does it not?  Think about a car loan, mortgage, home improvement loan, or a college loan; at the end of the month, it must be paid and when your bank balance is a little tight, this causes anxiety.  However, think about the opposite scenario.  There comes a day when the loan is ‘paid in full.’  Remember the joy, the testifying, and the feeling of freedom?  It is a joy and relief like no other.