Looking for an earlier Watchword?
- Clean Plate Club - Clean Plate Club: No one can deny the fact that we need food, substance to maintain our health, our stamina, and even our ability to think and reason. We love food; even to the point of having our favorite restaurant, our favorite item on the menu, and our willingness to drive miles to be able to dine on that favorite. But Jesus reminds us that we need more than food for mental and physical health. We could have all the food available in the world and never go hungry from a physical standpoint, yet this body of ours is an empty shell well fed by world standards, yet empty and lifeless. Continue reading
- The Power Source - The Power Source: Ever consider yourself a power source? Well, you are. So am I. First thing in the morning, I reach over and turn on my lamp and there is light. I did not say, “Let there be light”, as my creator-God did. I start my Keurig and make coffee, and I don’t celebrate, “Hey, look what I did! See what I created!” No, not that kind of power. I’m talking about the power, or the energy for the Christian life and where that comes from. One of the most important commandments that Jesus left us with before he was taken up to heaven is contained in the first chapter of the book of acts. Continue reading
- High Dive - High Dive: The father stood on the high dive platform at the crowded public swimming pool. His young son sat on the edge of the pool, staring admiringly at his father. His eyes widened as his father waved, and then launched himself into what he hoped would be a wonderful dive to impress his son. Somewhere between the platform and the water all went wrong, and he hit the water with a mighty belly-flop that echoed across the pool. A blessing? I believe inspiration is communication from the Lord. I believe the Lord speaks to each of us in many ways, languages, actions, and, yes, those unexpected things that happen to us, even from a high dive. Continue reading
- Are You Sin-free? - Are You Sin-Free? Seriously, have you stopped sinning? I mean all of it; thought, word and deed? Sins of omission and commission? So now you are pure, pure as the driven snow? Really? Self-declared sin-free. Interesting. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and a member of the Sanhedrin, goes to Jesus, not so much to test him, but to get an answer to his own questions about eternal life. In this exchange, the Pharisee comes away with a dilemma, a conflict that will take him to Calvary where he, along with Joseph of Arimathea, already a secret follower of Jesus, will, in grief, reverently claim the body of Jesus for burial. Two Pharisees in the process of being born again. Continue reading
- Alzheimers and the Invisible God - Alzheimer’s and the Invisible God: I started this meditation after I was given a story about a loved one who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. The loved one was 62, and she had passed away just three years later. It is a sad and often repeated story, but one of love and the strength of the caregiver. I don’t think anyone can research this topic without wondering if any of these symptoms are showing up in their own everyday life or in the life of a lived one. Alzheimer’s is such a cruel disease, taking away common thought processes, behavior, and memory. The story of that woman underscores the truth that God's love is eternal, unaffected by what happens to our earthbound bodies. Continue reading
- Shirts vs. Skins? - Shirts vs. Skins? Have you ever been caught-up in the political political maelstrom, a nonsensical, go nowhere, political struggle that shed more heat than light? There is much in the political landscape to cause serious concerns for the believer, the follower of Christ. What is our position on this and that and the other thing? Maybe the better question is, why do we tend to take that malarkey so seriously? Continue reading
- We Are Perfect - We Are Perfect: Van Gogh was hardly a perfect person. He had many flaws in his interaction with others, in his war with himself, and his own declaration that he was a ‘failure’. But he was not a failure, he was, in fact, perfect for the purpose God had for his life. God created this man and this man created masterpieces that we, in turn, admire, are immersed in, and, the result is a spiritual experience. We, too, are perfect. We have been fashioned out of dust, been made in the perfect image for God’s purpose for our life. Each one of us is different. It goes far beyond fingerprints, gender, race, temperament, intelligence through a long a long list of differences, and yet each one of us is perfect for the purpose for which God has called us. What is that purpose? Continue reading
- Invisible Spiritual Presence - Invisible Spiritual Presence: Some time ago, in an issue of The Evangel, a publication of the Association of Lutheran Churches, I read an article by James Hoefer, entitled The Invisible Enemy. Our thoughts may flip back six years to Covid and how the pandemic had upended our lives and created a time of isolation in our usually socialized existence. It would be hard to argue about that. In his article, Dr. Hoefer speaks of the power of darkness. He makes this statement: “A deeper dive into the Biblical portrayal of darkness brings some surprises! There we find that everything we see in the visible, physical realm is caused, provoked, or at least influenced by something in the invisible, spiritual realm.” You may say, Spirits? Humbug! Everything can be answered with science or our five senses. Continue reading
- What Are You Waiting For? - What Are You Waiting For? That was the question posed by Pastor Poh Fang Chia in a recent Our Daily Bread devotional which caused me to think, what am I waiting for from God? Direction? Peace? Inspiration? Healing? What? Are we waiting for something that builds us up personally? Or are we waiting for something that touches the lives of others, loved ones, family members, victims of violence or natural disasters? Maybe you prayed for each of them, and that is what you are waiting, results? Continue reading
- Patience, Prudence - Patience, Prudence: I stood at the counter while a somewhat frustrated staff member processed my credit card to pay for my copay at the doctor’s office. Her comment was that the system had been slow all day and it was “maddening”, her word.I’m not sure patience is in short supply so much as there seem to be multiple opportunities to lose it.The Lord tells us to relax, not to worry. I suspect that in a dark mood of impatience, we may let “Help me Jesus”, slipped from our mind. We are called to go gently through the day, calmly leaning on Jesus, and enjoying his presence. Continue reading
- Love is an Absolute - Love is an Absolute: An absolute? Scripture tells us: Love endures through every circumstance; Love never dies. So, yes, it’s an absolute. I’m one of those romantics who believes that love never dies. Even death does not diminish it. Nor does it dim because of conflict. I also don’t believe that there are differing shades of love. I’ve never seen a movie where the protagonist might say, “My darling, my love for you is at 47% and I hope you feel the same". Although that does sound a bit silly, it has no power. Continue reading
- Payday or Taxday? - Payday or Taxday?: We each know the different feelings on those two separate times during the course of our lives. Those days where everything is going right, where we feel like we’re being rewarded, within the power of the Lord and we feel his presence in all that we do. And then there are those days when it seems it’s time to pay the piper. Now you are struggling through a grey day, dealing with adversity, and it feels as if you are paying some kind of penalty, a tax of sorts. Continue reading
- Such a Time as This - Such a Time as This: In this scripture passage, John is answering his worried disciples that everything he had was given by God, a gift. In the Jewish wedding customs of that day, the friend of the bridegroom was like a combination of best man and wedding planner, they arranged everything, and wanted no attention. John saw his role was to bring two people together; Christ and His bride, you and me. His message, He must increase, but I must decrease, is to us. When I watch televangelists, my skepticism sometimes gets in the way of their message. The ego that too often struts upon the stage, the books that are sold, the programming that is presented with advertising, the hollow promises. I know I’m a skeptic! Continue reading
- The Blame Game. AGAIN? - The Blame Game. AGAIN? YES, again. I don’t like the idea of writing about the blame game…it's so negative, yet, there is more to say. The way to avoid responsibility for your own behavior doesn’t make any sense at all in the walk of a Christian. But, it has been going on since Adam and Eve, and some of the critical moments in our history featured that same mentality that says, I am not responsible. The blame game doesn’t fit the Christian. Yet, it pops up in even the best of churches. Continue reading
- The Blame Game - The Blame Game: “It was his fault.” “She made me do it.” “The devil made me do it.” “Don’t look at me, I know nothing of it.” “Those two are responsible, my hands are clean.” “I am not responsible.” “Don’t blame it on me if God made you become a farmer.” The blame game is the longest running sport in the world. We easily track it back to Genesis 3 and that poor serpent that, apparently, was at the root of all evil in the world. Poor little snake. Should we call it the “sin-maker”? Or was it something other than the serpent? Continue reading
- Nailed It! - Nailed it! Colossians 2:14. By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, Jesus set all of that aside, nailing it to the cross. He nailed it for us! Our sins, right there on the cross of Calvary. We tend to think of the scene on Calvary as an unthinkable occurrence, a travesty, the end of a dream, the death of our hero. We tend to miss two things: Jesus is the one doing the nailing on the cross. While it is true that he allowed the Roman soldiers to pin him down and nail his body to the wooden frame cross, it is also true that ultimately Jesus was in control of the entire situation. Continue reading
- Water-Walking - Water-Walking: The little girl with an adventurous spirit, climbed down the face of the bluff onto the beach. She was there for a while, so much fun playing in the surf, but now the tide was coming in. She searched in vain for the foot and hand-holds that had helped her climb down; they were nowhere to be found. As the water rose, in panic she cried out, "Someone, help me!" Somewhere above her head, the hand of a fisherman reached down, and she is rescued. The men in the boat were experienced fishermen, and yet the change in the wind, and the waves caused great concern. Then they saw Jesus walking toward them, on the rough water. Continue reading
- He Is Truth - He Is Truth: We know that passage from John 14, and the quote from Jesus, I am the way, the truth, and the life.. We have discussed it in so many different forums and tried to slant it one way or another, applying secular morality or inclusionism (is that even a word?) to what Jesus said. But, Jesus did not say he would show the truth or teach the truth or model the truth. He said I am the truth. He is the source of truth. You and I can discover truth, but we cannot create truth. Continue reading
- The Enemy Within - The Enemy Within: The scene is a locked room in a house, far from the marketplace in Jerusalem. The location is shared in secret among the followers and disciples of Jesus, for they are afraid of the Romans and the Pharisees. Jesus came and stood among them, saying, “do not be afraid”. He walked around the room, showing the wounds He had suffered. Then Jesus spoke to those disciples, and to us, saying, “Go and forgive each other, love your enemies, pray for those who insult you, come as a child, trusting, forgiving.” Continue reading
- From Word to Spirit - From Word to Spirit: Recently our men’s group has been studying Philippians. We've had lively discussions, some on point, others not so much. Mostly reverent, some based on the trust within the group. Over all, we had an enriching time, learned a few things, and, because of the bond between us, openly shared. That is the beauty of such groups. We all need that kind of support as we do our very best to walk with Jesus through this life. We can study the Bible inside and out, memorize chapter and verse, but the relevance of our study and our faith rests in the way and manner in which it is reflected in our lives. Continue reading
