Looking for an earlier Watchword?
- Anger? Hope? - Anger? Hope? I was thinking about fear, empathy and compassion, and trying to sort out the differences and the characteristics of those common states of mind. I suppose I could’ve thrown in anger as well, because in my mind each one of us has gone through a period of anger, that we may not have identified as such. But, I would argue that it is hard to go from a life thar seems to be going smoothly to an abrupt change where there is disruption and difficulties and not produce frustration and anger. Anger, in my mind, is tied to hope in a weird way. In our present political circumstance, we have anger because we want a better narrative. We don’t like the one we have. Continue reading
- Conflict Resolution - Conflict Resolution: Have you ever been here? You and those you work with have always had a good and easy relationship. When there have been disagreements, they were resolved easily and in good-natured compromise. But then, along comes a little bear, just a small minor thing that stands right there in the way of progress. And the little bear grows into a grizzly it is not a small minor thing, but a dispute that has turned into a conflict. You may find yourself angered by something that has happened, or words that were spoken in haste. This is an example that has been used many times: It has been estimated that there are over 50,000 ‘brands’ of Christianity. Churches split, sometimes over the most mundane and inane matters; carpet color, use or naming of rooms, women in the pulpit, the age of communicants, or issues related to homosexuality. Continue reading
- Giant Slayer - Giant Slayer: What are your giants? What causes you fear? Concern? Maybe it is something invisible, yet deadly? Like Covid? Maybe you recall with dread times in quarantine, like being in jail, restricted to a room. It is like being captive to a giant, one that has restricted your freedoms, isolated you from families, our loved ones. Maybe your giant is something else. An estrangement from a loved one over something, now hard to recall. It makes one wonder if part of the giant is our own pride, our own unwillingness to except responsibility, and to surrender it all to the Lord, to trust Him? In fairness to the disciples, trusting Him to that degree was a lesson they were in the process of learning. Continue reading
- Ancient Clay Lamp - Ancient Clay Lamp: True story. In 1939 or 1940, a great uncle of mine was part of an archaeological ‘dig’ somewhere in the Holy Land and uncovered a clay lamp. I inherited the lamp from my father. Inside is a yellowed piece of paper which reads, “Lamp – oil. Ancient – est. 2500 BC. Found within the project near Tel-Aviv, 1939-40.” It’s a small lamp, bird-shaped, 3” tail to beak, made of clay. I suppose removing the lamp from the Holy Land project was some kind of violation. But the act of holding a 4500 year old hand-made lamp carries with it a reverent sense of history, and the fact that it was made by someone during the time of Moses! Well, wow! If you would like to see it, just ask me. Continue reading
- Saying Grace - Saying Grace: What has been your family tradition as you gathered around the table. Do you hold hands and say a prayer of gratitude for the food before you? Does your father or your grandfather call all to have grace. Do you recite the grace together, maybe some version of “Johnny Appleseed”? When we say grace we are expressing our gratitude for all that the Lord provides, and it goes beyond our nourishment, it goes to the very heart of our Christian walk, eternal salvation. A grace is something we don't earn, it is a gift from our Lord and savior and it comes without our earning it. Continue reading
- Wait for It! - Wait for It! Maybe it was the time I spent in Korea during that conflict, that I'm a fan the old TV comedy show M*A*S*H, and it’s array of characters, each one adding to the fun and drama of the story. Granted, my time in Korea on the DMZ, during a time of a questionable truce was not fun. “Wait for it,” the character Radar would say, as he would sense helicopters bringing the wounded to the M*A*S*H medical unit. We are often urged to wait! Many Psalms entreat us to wait on the Lord. Such waiting is expectant. Such waiting is hopeful. Such waiting is the movement of faith. Continue reading
- I Believe in Jesus Christ… - I Believe in Jesus Christ… We can’t transport ourselves back to first Century Judea or enter the temple in Jerusalem at that moment of Pentecost. It must have been an amazing event, the sudden rush of wind, the tongues of fire, the babble of multiple languages and all present understood what was said. For the disciples, it was a moment of realization. This was the Messiah, long promised. But who would believe? Certainly, not the Sadducees, and probably not the Pharisees. There had been too much anger and negative thought towards this Carpenter-teacher-miracle worker. So, who would believe his story? Perhaps all of that served as motivation, as the Twelve filed out of the temple and gathered to digest and understand what had happened to them. Continue reading
- God Rested I - God Rested I: God rested? Well, no wonder he was tired, look what He had done! Wait a minute, this is God, we're talking about. Let’s think about this. Let’s consider this from the standpoint of our spiritual thinking, not our flawed human thinking. On the seventh day God rested from all His work. Contrary to how we understand the Scripture, God did create on the seventh day! Yes, He created a wonderful gift for all of us. A day of rest! Continue reading
- In the Wilderness - In the Wilderness: I stood there, wanting to walk away, turn my back on that situation and not get involved. It was none of my business, yet, something wasn’t right, and I knew it. Then that voice again, “walk away, walk away, this doesn’t concern you”, echoed against my resistance. But it was by business, and I waded in, and it made a difference. We may not be in the wilderness as Jesus was, and yet the temptations are all around. Satan speaks so sweetly, so enticingly, and we are torn. Admit it or not, there’s often a war going on between the devil and our better angels. Do we go one way or the other, the choice is ours. Maybe that way leads to inconvenience, a difficult decision that may cost you dearly, yet, it is the right choice. Or maybe you hear that other voice, so friendly, so assured “You’re really going to put yourself out and you have no idea how much it will cost you. Just forget it, no one will know, no one will hold it against you.” Continue reading
- He Is Here - He Is Here: She started to dash across the street without looking and the car missed her by inches. You stand in line at the funeral struggling to find the right words, offer a prayer, and God-inspired words flow, and your friend is comforted. You paused at the intersection of a county road and a busy state highway. Limited visibility in both directions. You start to pull out and suddenly braked, the semi misses your car by less than a foot. You are the mother or the grandmother of young children, therefore, you are witness to the God’s great love in your everyday life. The wee small voice deep in your mind, providing guidance in the eye of the storm. Can you hear it? Do you see it? Do you feel it? Interventions by God? Most assuredly. Continue reading
- Holy Ground - Holy Ground: My friends and I had traveled to Michigan for five days of golf, good food and, maybe some cards. Early one morning we stood on the elevated third tee of the golf course and drank in the beauty of the scene. Without words, one friend nodded for us to look behind us. We turned, and there at the far end of the tee-station, stood a doe and two fawns, beautiful, motionless, staring at us, seemingly without fear. No one moved, no one spoke for a what seemed like a long time, until the deer, and her babies, turned and slowly moved into the forest. It had been a reverent experience. For a brief time, we had witnessed God's grace, and the tee-station on that third hole of this golf course had become, for a moment, Holy Ground. Holy ground, God speaking to us in the blinding beauty of a sunset. Holy ground, God speaking to us in the love of a child. Holy Ground is that moment when God's grace touches you, inspires you, encourages you to reach out to others, to share your witness to others, to express in word and deed, "you are loved." Continue reading
- Difficulty Trusting - Difficulty Trusting: Years ago, I rode the elevator to the top floor of the Sears Tower in Chicago and looked out over the city and then down to Michigan Avenue and the Miracle Mile. I suddenly had a queasy feeling and involuntarily stepped back from the window. Are you adverse to heights? Do you have a kind of a weird feeling when you look down from a height, maybe a cliff while you’re hiking? It’s not a comfortable feeling. Trusting Jesus is difficult. We are not called to walk with Him, rather He has called us to hold on to His Right Hand, to cling to Him in all we do, and walk this life with Him. Continue reading
- Gotta Breathe - Gotta Breathe: Indeed, we must all breathe in order to sustain life. That immutable fact has been hammered home in my life, first with my wife who passed away from lung disease, and more recently my own situation which is a breathing problem caused by heart-lung interaction, which has resulted in a heart procedure in my future. I deal with the inconvenience of my problem with medication, by limiting my own exertion, and by always carrying my rescue inhaler. Continue reading
- Where Are You Being Led? - Where Are You Being Led? “Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led.” I was thinking about that statement, trying to understand it, but another thought stuck its sharp elbows into the discussion – My will. How often do we resolved to follow our Lord without question, only to be side-tracked by our own desires, wishes and plans? Tell me, how willing are we to take the idol that we worship to the mountain and sacrifice it, send it up in smoke? Maybe it means seriously reordering your priorities; prayerfully considering where the Lord is leading you, and letting Him determine what is important. Continue reading
- Psalm 46 - Psalm 46: Martin Luther had a great saying about Psalm 46 when he was in great distress. He said, “Let us sing the forty-sixth psalm in concert; and then let the devil do his worst.” Look at the passage, Psalm 46, broken into four pieces, and each piece has a familiar ring to it, on its own. We probably have heard homilies or sermons on each one of those parts. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Ding a’ling, heard that before, a call for confidence and security, in the Lord. Here the poet begins with God’s provision. He looked to God for help in difficult times and found it. He will not fear, even as he faced difficulties in his life that seemed overwhelming. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. Now there is a verse that really preaches. Streams of living water making glad, even joyful, all those who worship the one true God. Continue reading
- Self-Confession - Self-Confession: Recently, in the midst of my morning readings and meditation, this thought occurred to me: how do I deepen my knowledge and understanding of Jesus? How do I get to know Him better? As I thought about this, another thought came to mind, maybe I would know Him better by knowing myself better. Maybe I would know Him at a deeper level if I were to understand better my own frailties, my own sinful nature, my own tendency not to follow His word. Continue reading
- Not My Fault! - No My Fault! Don’t let your hearts be troubled. How do I do that, that 'letting my heart be troubled' thing? Or should I say, why do I do that? It’s not always me, it’s all these things that are happening all around me, Lord. It’s these stupid politicians, or the dog, or the kids, or the weather. I can find any number of things that cause my heart to be troubled. I am not to blame. Jesus never wants us to have life without trouble. But He promised that we could have a heart that is not troubled even when trouble enters our lives. So, when he says let not your heart be troubled, he implies that we have control over our reaction to trouble. It’s not trouble that brings us down, it's our reaction to it. Continue reading
- Sign of a Christian - Sign of a Christian: Over the centuries, man has displayed all kinds of symbols to tell the world that they follow Jesus Christ, or simply, that they are Christians. I have a chain around my neck with a cross, as so many people do, and that declares that “I am a Christian!” Do you believe it? You may see cross lapel pins or ear rings. Maybe you will see the sign of a fish on the trunk of a car, another mark of following Christ. In some gatherings of followers, it is the haircut or dress that makes the statement. I guess there is nothing wrong with any of this, if that is your leanings. But, do they really say, “I am a Christian, a follower of Christ”? Is there a true universal mark or sign that tells the world whose you are? Continue reading
- Let Go! - Let Go! Accepting Christ or being born again, by its very nature, requires us to let go of our old self, our old thinking and our own way of living life. Our priorities change, realign with our faith, and we step out as a new person. In essence, we are letting go of the smaller fish, our old life, in order to embrace the bigger fish, a life in Christ. The transition that we have gone through in our commitment to Christ is much easier to describe in words, then it is to live it. Continue reading
- Talking with God - Talking with God: My daughter found this conversation with God by John Roedel and sent it on to me. It is such a good and appropriate message that I wanted to share it with you. Keep in mind, this is You and God having a conversation. A Conversation with God: Me: Hey God. God: Hello...Me: I'm falling apart. Can you put me back together? God: I would rather not.Me: Why? God: Because you aren't a puzzle. [There is more to this worth reading. Just you and God.] Continue reading
