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- Change of Plans - Change of Plans: The Lord Speaks: Today I want you to take a deep breath and consider a better way. My Word will give you the answers you need. Realize that a spirit of quietness and confidence only comes when you stop and focus on Me. A change of plans or a new normal! Too often that phrase seems to apply to things changing in your life, often from good to bad, like a medical diagnosis or loss of loved one. Or, perhaps the change is from good to better! You know, like marriage or new babies (especially the first one), or a promotion. Sometimes that ‘New Normal’ is a choice, a decision that one makes because of new information provided. Sometimes God speaks to us and it makes a difference. Continue reading
- Relive the Pain? - Relive the Pain: In a younger version of me, I had aspirations of being an actor. In my early years at college I looked forward to rehearsals because they were fun and I learned a lot of things, some of which are not worthy of being detailed here. Rehearsing bad experiences, or rehashing troubles is not helpful, and results in experiencing discomfort and pains many times over. We are meant to go through the pain of trouble only one time, when it actually occurs and there is no point in multiplying our suffering. Our Lord tells us to “come to me” and to relax in his peace. He tells us that it will strengthen us and prepare us for this day, taking away our fear and turning it into confident trust. Continue reading
- Shepherd of My Soul - Shepherd of My Soul: Psalm 23 may be the best known, a passage more people have memorized in the entire Bible. It’s probably a passage that has more power and more content then we know. More sermons preached and more books have been written on this simple prayer of David. Why? I think that is because we can relate to it. We can translate the simple words into meaning for us, we can relate to phrases like ‘quiet waters’ and we know the ‘right path’ the Lord wants us to travel. The darkness of the valley does not cause us to fear because we know the lord there with us, and that gives us peace. Nevertheless, take a deeper dive, one section at a time. Continue reading
- I Do Not Know That Man! - I Do Not Know That Man! Have you ever said that? You know, denying that you know someone. Maybe you made that denial for reasons that later you regretted? How about this, you're asked a certain question and maybe you don't respond directly to it, but you evade it or you duck it, whatever you did you didn't answer it. Maybe the question was, ‘Do you believe in life after death and why’ and you didn’t feel prepared to respond to the 'why' part of that query. I do not know that man, was Peter begging off of the accusation that he was with Jesus. Poor Peter, he was neither prepared, nor equipped under those circumstances to defend the truth that he was a follower of Jesus. He had much to learn and to regret, before he could accept the love of Christ. Continue reading
- Imagine - Imagine: have said many times that a good round of golf, sets me up for disappointment for the next round. That makes sense, doesn’t it. We get our expectations pretty high at times, and that sets us up for a bit of disappointment when those expectations aren’t met. But dreams, and goals, and expectations are good. We draw a lot from the “way it was” when life was good, the kids were great, the sun was shining, God was in His Heaven and all was right with the world. Right? So, there is your touch point, there is that image of what you wish to experience now. Does that set us up for disappointment? Impatient for the “way it was”? Yes, it probably does. Continue reading
- Utopia, Plan B - Utopia, Plan B: My daughter, Beth, sent me this quote from Oscar Wilde: “A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realization of utopias.” The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable defines Utopia as “An imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. The word was first used as the name of an imaginary island, governed on a perfect political and social system, in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More. The name in modern Latin is literally ‘no-place’.” Continue reading
- Back to Wow! - Getting Back to Wow: Personal for a Point: Jess, the love of my son’s life, was gunned down less than three years ago. Now he stands in the street looking at his house, seemingly unchanged, one of four homes still standing in a neighborhood of 10 or so, after the passing of the blowtorch known as the Santa Ana winds. Homes of friends with children that my son knew, lost. Two major blows, how does one deal with that? Yes his house was still standing, but why? How do we deal with catastrophes that fall upon us? What do we give credit to, how do we cope? We've all seen the pictures of the devastation suffered by our friends and neighbors in California. Maybe we feel fortunate, or maybe we feel guilty. Survival guilt. Continue reading
- Praying into 2025 - Praying into 2025: In a recent sermon, Allen Jackson spoke of four key elements in the prayerful worshiping of God. These included, receiving Christ, renewing our faith, releasing our fears, and rebuilding the broken places in our lives. The following is my attempt to follow his outline in a prayer that leads us into this new year laying before us. Let us pray... Continue reading
- And We Saw God - And We Saw God: This Christmas, my kids gifted me with a magic screen, loaded with their pictures, and loadable with mine. It's a wonderful slideshow that goes on and on throughout the day. In the morning the slideshow resumes. It's a wonder and it has taken me back to my albums of pictures, and of course when you go back to the pictures you go back to the memories. Let me tell you about one memory when my wife, Joanne, and I saw God. This moment occurred over 20 years ago at a little cinder block cabin perched high on a bluff overlooking lake Michigan. The family gathering had lasted throughout the week and we'd had a great time. Now it was just Joanne and I, one more night, closing up the cabin and recalling the days that we had enjoyed.It was at dusk when that moment occurred. Then just before the sun disappeared into the lake, it happened. The sky exploded with the most beautiful awry either one of us had ever seen. It wasn't just the colors, it wasn't just the gathering of clouds, it was something that was speaking to us from the sky and within our own hearts. Continue reading
- What Say You, Jeremiah? - What Say You, Jeremiah? I think we often read Jeremiah 29:11 with a hopeful mind, kind of like a security blanket. God has a plan for me that is good, so clearly this present suffering I’m going through will end soon and then my flourishing will begin! Sorry, but that is not at all what God was promising the Israelites, and it’s not what he’s promising us, either. The heart of the verse is not that we would escape adversity, but that we would learn to thrive in the midst of it. The heart of the verse is not that we would escape this adversity, but that we would learn to thrive in the midst of it. Ah, so, we have thought about this and talked about adversity before. As we have made our way through difficulties, how have we grown? Have we drawn nearer to God as a result? Was that His plan? Think about that. Look at verse 7: “seek the peace and the prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Continue reading
- Dreams, Visions, Whispers - Dreams, Visions, Whispers: Have you ever considered the value that dreams may have? But, dreams and dreaming has a place in our lives. Proverbs tells us that “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” That seems radical, but the truth is, without a plan, a dream, if you will, you won’t achieve much. Without a blueprint, you can’t build a house and without an idea of what kind of house you want, a blueprint can’t be drawn. Without a dream, a vision, we drift through life without ever making progress. Setting goals is one way of establishing a framework for our dream. Continue reading
- A Fresh, Clean Canvas - A Fresh, Clean Canvas: Before you, a blank canvas, and you are Van Gogh. Or, you are Gian Bernini, or DaVinci, drinking in a great slab of marble before you, imagining, what? Yes, David! You are Michelangelo, looking up at the empty ceiling of this small, insignificant chapel, and imagining, just imagining what could bless this space? Well, we are not Van Gogh, or DaVinci, but you are you and I am me, wrinkles, arthritis and all. Your eyesight isn’t quite what it was but the great thing is none of that matters. You are God’s creation. But guess who the artist is? Did you say, you or me? No. The author of our story about to be written is our Lord. Continue reading
- Self-Confession - Self-Confession: This morning, in the midst of my morning readings, meditation, and conversation with Jesus, this thought occurred to me: how do I deepen my knowledge and understanding of my Lord and savior? 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. In his book, Give It All to Him, Max Lucado makes a convincing argument that Jesus wants all of those burdens that weigh us down, that separate us from Him. So, how do I get to know Him better? Lay all that junk of ours at the foot of Jesus, and say, “Here, Lord and Savior, please take these away from me, and help me walk closer to you. Thank you. 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. We may immediately think of Covid and how it 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. Everything? Really? And so we doubt. In point of fact, I believe that the creative work of writer, painter, sculptor, composer, or singer, these are all the result of inspiration or gifts given by the Creator, King of the Universe. Continue reading
- One Christmas Day - A Longfellow poem, I heard the Bells on Christmas Day, and an original story, Ezbon and the Lamb, gifts to you on this, Christmas Day. Stan Escott Continue reading
- A Small Town Wedding - A Small Town Wedding: Cana: A week long wedding celebration. Jesus, his mother, and four of his disciples have been invited and are enjoying their time celebrating. You know the story, by the 3rd or 4th day of the celebration the wine has run out. People would be leaving. Mary, Jesus’s mother, knows full well who her son is. The message from the Angel 30 years before made it very clear. She had no full understanding of the power of that moment only that her son was special. So she tells the stewards, “Do whatever he tells you.” We need not wait for a miracle to define the purpose of Jesus, God's son, being sent to save us. For Mary, the defining moment may very well have been those first few moments when being greeted by Elizabeth after her arduous journey. We need not wait for a miracle to define the purpose of Jesus, God's son, being sent to save us. For Mary, the defining moment may very well have been those first few moments when being greeted by Elizabeth after her arduous journey. Continue reading
- The Greatest of These… - The Greatest of These is Love: Wouldn’t you agree that the most common theme at this sacred time of year is love. Love in all its forms, settings, worship, family. Love. A gift, a grace, a blessing, a joy.We love our husband or wife, or that special person in our life. We love our children, and our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren, and our dog and our cats and other pets, and all our family, extended beyond blood. God has given us an enormous capacity to love. We add to it, but none of it diminishes. The love that God has given us is like loving arms that embrace and hold as dear, then reaches out for more, more love. Unquenchable. When this physical life ends for someone close to us, love that we hold for that person remains. Continue reading
- Imagine - Imagine: I have said many times that a good round of golf, sets me up for disappointment for the next round. That makes sense, doesn’t it. We get our expectations pretty high at times, and that sets us up for a bit of disappointment when those expectations aren’t met. But dreams, and goals, and expectations are good. We draw a lot from the “way it was” when life was good, the kids were great, the sun was shining, God was in His Heaven and all was right with the world. Right? So, there is your touch point, there is that image of what you wish to experience now. Does that set us up for disappointment? Impatient for the “way it was”? Yes, it probably does, to a certain extent. much of our worry and stress results from wanting things to happen now, before their times have come. In a recent Jesus Calling, He tells us to “ask Him to show you the path forward, moment by moment. Slow down and enjoy the journey in My Presence.” Continue reading
- Calm Yourself - Calm Yourself: In frustration, I stood up from my desk and started to leave my little office, to pack my bag in anticipation of my trip to Illinois. It was getting late and I had to leave soon. This Watchword meditation had not been written and I did not know what I would do. I took about three steps, when God spoke to me and brought me back to my Mac. In essence, I heard Him say “My peace is sufficient, calm yourself and write what comes to mind.” So, I sat and nothing came to my mind. I struggled and struggled with the meditation. There are times when I wish I had a background in theology, maybe that would help, but, mostly, I wish I had a more consistent creative spirit. I think there are times when I count too much on the spur of the moment inspiration from God and just sit down and put words together. There are times I feel like I’m tricking the Almighty, but how can that be? Continue reading
- Values in Conflict - Values in Conflict: There are times in our lives where we are in conflict with another over matters that may be now seem too simplistic or too unimportant, yet at the time it may have fractured a relationship. In retrospect, you may have thought, “what was I thinking?” Father William of St. Gregory’s Abbey in Three Rivers, Michigan, recalls, with humor, one of the great theological conundrums of his childhood: What was the real, the true tune for “Away in a Manger”? There ways of singing the story of Jesus, which may not fit exactly the words we read in the Bible. In fact may seem to be a departures from basic truths, but all praise and give glory to the Lord in our own way, with the gifts we have been given. Continue reading
