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- A Dialog with Jesus - A Dialog with Jesus: And Jesus says, just keep in touch. Don’t worry about the Prayers, they will come. The important thing is the communication, it’s the human, I created, reaching out to Me. Don’t worry about the Prayers, they will come. In My own time, they will come. Stay tuned, always stay tuned to Me, the Lord and your fellow man. Do not lose touch. Don’t worry about the Prayers, they will come as inspiration springs from thoughts and calls and compliments and criticisms, from feelings, from isolation and loneliness, and even from a loss, for, My Child, I know all of this. So, don’t worry about the Prayers, they will come. Continue reading
- Do Not Fear - Do Not Fear: In times like these, it is easy to let fear grip our hearts and occupy our minds. What we heard last night in the latest news, garners even more fear, if we let it. You know, much of it is fear of the unknown. That kind of fear fills our mind, too much of the time. We need to remember these important truths: God is with us, God is for us, God is in charge and God loves us. His voice continues to instruct us: do not be afraid. Brothers and sisters, we are not alone. When the storm rages all around us, and darkness seems to close in, he offers us peace and refuge in the midst of it. He promises us hope and strength. Proverbs 3:5 is a true watchword: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Continue reading
- Forgot Your Password? - Forgot Your Password?:Have you seen that question -- "Forgot your password"? Probably not more than three thousand times! You want to get into one of YOUR accounts? Accessed denied! What’s your password? Forgot your password? That denial and the accompanied question causes a flicker of frustration for me. How about you? The protocols (the password) for entering that part of the tabernacle, beyond the curtain, called the Most Holy Place, were a bit more elaborate. The penalty for getting this "password" wrong? DEATH! Continue reading
- Walking on Dark Waters - Walking in Darkness: Do you remember, eight years ago, 2018, when 12 boys from Thailand, along with their soccer coach, descended into a cavern intending to have an afternoon of exploring and adventure? There was an unexpected rising of water that forced them deeper and deeper into the cavern and It would be 17 days later before rescuers could lead them out. The prophet Isaiah described a world of darkness, one overrun by violence and greed, shattered by rebellion. Hope was fading, and yet Isaiah insisted that this growing despair was not the end of it. His belief rested on God’s mercy there would be no more gloom for those who are in distress. He was convinced that God would never abandon his people in the face of this darkness. Continue reading
- Fellow Water-Walkers - Fellow Water-Walkers: The Matthew passage is an amazing story of shaky faith on the part of the disciples. Think about this; they were fresh from the feeding of thousands from virtually nothing, and yet they doubted. They had witnessed healings of lepers, sight and sanity restored. Yet, they doubted. Not only that, but Peter underscores their doubt by saying “if it is you, tell me to come.” So, Peter calls on Jesus to let him come to him on the water, and He does. Is it that Peter wants proof that it is the Lord? But after a step or two he gets scared, his faith leaks out, and he panics. “Lord, save me.” Note, Peter now calls him “Lord”. He realizes who Jesus is, but still he was not all in, he had some tentativeness, some doubt. He did have “little faith”. Darn that Peter! Oh, wait a minute. Darn, Peter? How about darn you and I? Continue reading
- Water Walking - Water Walking: The men in the boat were experienced, and yet the change in the wind, and the roughing of the sea caused great concern. Then they saw Jesus walking toward them, on the waves. Peter called out, “If that is you, Lord, let me come to you.” Water-walking, risk taking, trying something new are all best done in the trusting embrace of our Lord. How about the start of a new day? Yes. How about worry? An awareness of all that you must do, and how will you get it all done? The water is rising all the way up to your chin, and the waves are getting higher, and you simply don’t know what to do. Then you remember the “Escape Clause”. Continue reading
- My Cup Overflows - Drinking from My Saucer: I had never heard this song nor read these lyrics until recently when they were sent to me by a friend. It touched me so deeply, that I want to share it as the meditation for today. Too often we take the blessings that flow to each of us from our Lord, and move on to the next challenge of life without the recognition of whose we are and how loved we are, and how His graces affect our lives: I've never made a fortune, It's probably too late now, Oh, but I don't worry about that much, 'Cause I'm happy anyhow. As I go along life's journey, I'm reaping better than I sow. I'm drinking from my saucer, 'Cause my cup has overflowed. Continue reading
- Power of Rest - Power of Rest: I think we underestimate the power of ‘rest’. We are not designed for 24-hour non-stop thinking, or working or even creating. God gave us a clear model of that when He set aside a day of rest. I have heard any number of sermons based on the need for us to recharge our batteries, to set aside worries, and to make a fresh start. To be clear, “rest” in the midst of struggles we all face, is not really the point. Yes, we have exhausted ourselves at times, and find ourselves separated from our comfort zones, but what “breaks” or times of rest have you practiced in order ro restore and to recharge? Your rest is part of God's plan for your life. Pay attention to it, it's important to honor your rest which is honoring God. Continue reading
- Are We Lost? - Are We Lost? I don’t believe that spiritual discernment is a single thing, an isolated act, or a change in broad behavior. Or even a change of heart, or a change of mind. Spiritual discernment is all of those things, and so much more. In some ways, spiritual discernment is a bit like the learning process. When you know that you should do something, and you do it, you realize that you know more, that you understand more fully a situation, or a person, or yourself, or where the Lord is leading you. Too often, I believe, that if we were to examine closely, where our spiritual walk was not a central focus of our belief, we would find that it might track back to something that we should have done, but failed, because, at the time, there didn’t seem to be an immediate call for our involvement. Continue reading
- I’m a Mermaid, Deal with It! - I'm a Mermaid, Deal with It! Robert Fulgham describes in his little book All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten a confident 5-year-old girl's question. The little girl asked, “Where do the mermaids go?” When he explained, that there was no mermaid category, she asserted, “You may believe that only giants, wizards, & ogres exist, but you are wrong. I am a mermaid! Deal with it!” I wonder what thoughts have occurred to us, when we have felt lost, out in a desert, or possibly out on the ocean, where the familiar, and the comfortable no longer can be seen. Or, you simply don't fit in, a mermaid amid giants. And you wonder, is this part of God's plan for me? If it is, I need Help, God. Continue reading
- Our Failures - Our Failures: Jesus is not praying for us in our success! He is praying for us in our failures! Wow. What a statement! Do you believe that? Jesus is rejoicing in the success He sees in our lives, which is different than the success we may aspire to, and the success He sees in us does not surprise Him. He has equipped us for that success, He has foreordained that we would succeed. So, in our equipping and in the foreordaining, He has set the stage for what would follow…our success through His will. Continue reading
- Our Father God - Our Father God: Our Heavenly Father has a love for us, His children, that is unmatched. All the heavens and earth were created with us in mind. He wanted a beautiful place for His family of mankind. He provides everything we need and much of what we want. He cares about every aspect of our lives: our health, our family, our life’s work, hobbies, dreams, and even our desires. Father God not only loves us in church, He loves us wherever we are. He loves what we do and what we become. He watches over us while we sleep and wakes us up every morning to start a new day in His love! Continue reading
- Talking with God - Talking with God: Imagine with me, ready for bed. It’s been a busy day. Ordinarily we lift our eyes to God and say a simple rote memory prayer, but this time we’re just going to talk to God, for we know he hears us, and we know his spirit is right here within us, beside us, around us. Correction, we’re going to talk with God, not to God, meaning I will speak, and I will listen to His response in the quiet of my evening. There is something about David and how he expresses himself in Psalm 4, talking with God. And so, we express ourselves accordingly. Continue reading
- Or Not at All - Or Not at All: Pastor Karen Pimpo, wrote in an Our Daily Bread devotional, this bit of interesting history: Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827. After his death, a hastily handwritten, but never sent, love letter was discovered among Beethoven’s papers. In that letter was the line “My eternally beloved… I can only live either wholly with you or not at all.” I read again Beethoven’s line only this time I read it the way I believe God intended: “My eternally beloved, you can only live either wholly with Me or not at all”. Wow! I can only be God’s child by total surrender, complete focus, being attentive to the speaking of the Holy Spirit, or I am not at all. In effect, are we Peter denying my Lord? Or worse, are we a Judas? Continue reading
- Lord, Give Me Wealth - Lord, Give Me Wealth: What do we make of the prayer of Jabez? Is that what we strive for, enlarged territory, wealth, acclaim? Is that how we pray? Lord give me wealth so that I can be a better Christian. Really? Lord expand my territory so that others will give me the acclamation that I deserve. There’s a worthy prayer! Is that what the spirit, deep in your heart, seeking? God‘s power, presence and guidance to elevate your own personal life? Jabez is asking God to bless him, which means that he has confidence that true blessings come from God‘s grace and goodness and have nothing to do with his own personal efforts. Continue reading
- Do You Love Me? - Do You Love Me? Part 2. Years ago, I read a wonderful faith story from India, about a man who rushed up to a Monk who was passing through his village and said to him, Give it to me! The Monk replied, Give you what? What you have in your pack! Last night I had a dream and in the dream God instructed me to ask the first monk I see walking through the village to give me the precious stone he carried. So give it to me! “Oh, you must mean this”, said the Monk, reaching into his pack. “I found it during a walk in the forest.” Continue reading
- Suddenly, He Was There! - Suddenly, He Was There! Thanks to an amazing scientific breakthrough of time travel, I had this inspiring experience: I was curious as to what happened after the Resurrection. Oh, I know how the Resurrection anchors our faith. But, what I wanted to know was what happened the few days after the Resurrection. So, I time-traveled back to Tuesday, April 7, 33 CE, and met this guy, this physician follower of Jesus, Luke. Let me tell you, he was so on fire and excited! He was telling a number of people, there, outside the Great Temple in Jerusalem, what he had seen and heard two days before, in Capernaum, there on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Continue reading
- I See His Blood - I See His Blood: For this devotional, let us in prayerful meditation consider this poem by Joseph Mary Plunkett, "I See His Blood Upon the Rose." We are truly saved by Christ's sacrifice, it is His blood that elevates us to become a child of God. His resurrection makes possible a blessed earthly life, with the promise of a rich eternal life with Him. For this devotional, let us in prayerful meditation consider this poem, I See His Blood Upon the Rose, blood shed for you and me.. Continue reading
- Mary’s Sword - Mary’s Sword: Speaking Mary’s imagined words in the book Simeon’s Sword, Mary Remembers, author Pastor Alice E.W. Smith writes: “Simeon said something about what Jesus was destined to do that I (Mary) did not understand at the time. The words were spoken with hope, peace, and certainty, but then, with a sadness that he had not shown before, when he said to me, '...and a sword will pierce your soul, too.' I stood staring at the old man for a moment in disbelief. I realized that Simeon knew something that I had only suspected. Somehow, this beautiful baby, my son, was to suffer terrible things." Continue reading
- Many Turned Away - Many Turn Away: Many of Jesus followers and disciples turned back to their own lives after hearing his words that seems so harsh. So Jesus challenges the twelve with this critical question,“Are you also going to leave?” Christ's sacrifice, his pain and suffering have hung over lent like a massive ridge of dark storm clouds, making it the most difficult and somber of liturgical seasons. Added to this burden, for many, is the sacrifice of food, activities, involvements given during the lenten season. This discipline is often contrary to our human nature for we often engage in in such to offset the stresses that comes with simply the living of our lives. Continue reading
