Looking for an earlier Watchword?
- Walking in Darkness - Walking in Darkness: Do you remember, three 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 2 ½ weeks 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
- Do You Feel Lucky? - Do You Feel Lucky?: There’s an iconic scene in the movie Dirty Harry, where the Clint Eastwood character has the drop on the bad guy and he makes the statement “Do you feel lucky? Well, do you? Do you? The bad guy proved not be too lucky. But, how about you? Do you feel lucky? Do you? You should, but it wouldn’t be luck, would it? It would be more like…blessed. Do you feel blessed? Do you? The answer should be, yes, I surely feel blessed. Even as I deal with difficult situations in my life, I feel blessed. Even in those times when I feel my age, I smile, and say thank you, Lord, for long life. Continue reading
- Talk to God? - Talk to God? Do you talk to God? I’m not talking about a conversation we may have in the context of our prayers, so much, but the simple sharing with our Lord what’s happening with us, at any given moment. Every moment of our lives is part of that sharing with God. Have you ever thought about the fact that the wind carries thousands of seeds, and each seed brings with it a certain degree of, I don’t know, maybe the potential for spiritual vitality. Most of these seeds carried by the air simply perish because they don’t find a place to take root – but some do. In the midst of our everyday life, what we share with others by word and by deed can be a representative of the word of God. You know we must learn to realize that the love of God seeks us in every situation and seeks our good. Continue reading
- The Way of Jesus - The Way of Jesus: How do you understand Jesus statement “I am the way, the truth, and the life”? Do you see this as simply access to God the Father, or is there more to it than that? Never in the history of the world had there been this idea of the world as community. Where, before Jesus, was there a movement that actively sought to include every single human being regardless of nationality, ethnicity, status, income, gender, moral background, or education, to be loved and transformed? No, never. The way of Jesus? One could made an argument that long before Jesus walked this earth, His influence touched individuals who stood up and exerted love, as defined by Jesus, into the culture of the times. Continue reading
- The Check List - The Check List: Have you ever thought about the life of a person committed to Judaism, trying to live in total conformity to the laws that had been part of their upbringing throughout their life? How does one follow, let alone keep track of, those 613 laws? What happens if you violate one? You have been loyal and committed to 612 laws but that one, that one law, whatever it is, you failed to meet the standard that was set for you. What happens then? Do you carry that guilt around the rest of your life? How does that even work? 613 laws, that would be bulky checklist. What’s on our checklist? Continue reading
- Promised Land - Promised Land: We read a lot about the promised land, and how God commissioned Moses to lead the Israelites across the desert to the very banks of the Jordan River. It is here that the sins God has placed on Moses prevented him from entering the promised land. We can place the Promised Land, the Land of Canaan, in a geographic area as specified in the Bible. But there is the Promise Land as a theological concept and we see that in both the Old and New Testaments. God’s promises are to the next generations, blessing us, his faithful followers. Continue reading
- The Call of the Mild? - The Call of the Mild? I don’t recall how old I was when I first read the book Call of the Wild by Jack London. I just know the story-line stuck with me from that moment on. Maybe it was the setting in Alaska that captured my imagination. Maybe it was the fact that the story line was about a dog that found strength in adversity. Maybe it was a happy ending or most likely, it was all of those. You may think that this storyline about a dog learning to survive in Alaska has no bearing on our lives. But think again of the track of our lives, as we have grown from childhood into adulthood. All the twists and turns along the way. Who’s in charge? Who is guiding those changes? When you embraced Christ, did that make a difference? When did it dawn on you that following Jesus was not always easy? Continue reading
- Help Me, Again, Holy Spirit! - Help Me, Again, Holy Spirit! So, God is speaking to Moses from a burning bush and giving him a mighty assignment of saving the people of God from Egypt. Moses knows the names of lots of gods. He fears these people will not believe him so he wants to know God’s name. The response was surprising and confusing; I AM WHO I AM…This is my name forever! We will run into the same name game when it comes to Jesus the Christ. Now in times of need, crisis, threat, we rarely pause to figure out which name to use, we simply say, Help me, Holy spirit, and it is sufficient. Or perhaps, Help me Jesus! Or, maybe, in desperate times it is simply God, I need You! Continue reading
- Help Me, Holy Spirit! - Help Me, Holy Spirit! In a recent Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence devotional, the Lord spoke to me and my occasional tendency to speak before I think. I don’t think that I’m alone in blurting out words and thoughts that I immediately regret. I sometimes speak in humor, and the listener hears nothing to smile about in what I say. I can see the a blessed ideal in what the Apostle James has said about being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to take offense or become angry. That’s very wise counsel but I’m wondering how many of us intentionally follow that advice. Continue reading
- God Incarnate? - God Incarnate? Dictionary definition: Incarnate \In*car"nate\, v. t. To clothe with flesh; to embody in flesh; to invest, as spirits, ideals, etc., with a human form or nature. God in human flesh! God seeking to experience the fullness of life as a human! Stop and consider what that means. Born from a teenager’s womb, in a barn-like stable, totally dependent on the mother and her husband. Now consider the stages of human development, even your own. It is hard for us to imagine the God of the Universe, as an infant, a child, an adolescent, a young adult, experiencing all the stresses and angst of that time of life. Continue reading
- The Lesson of the Manna - The Lesson of the Manna: In verse 28 of the above passage, God raises a rhetorical question with Moses, “How long will the people of Israel refuse to follow My instructions and commands?” But God is not talking only to Israel, He is addressing us, and that question is not rhetorical at all, as it is recognizing the sinful nature of humans acting like humans. If you have been there in that vast crowd of Israelites being fed on a daily basis by manna falling from heaven, wouldn’t you be curious if the manna would be there on the Sabbath, on the day of rest? Tell a child not to touch the hot stove, and guess what? Ouch! God never speaks to us in ways that are confusing and hard to understand. In fact, His clarity of purpose is striking. “Thou shalt not eat…” “Thou shalt not gather…” We understand, Lord, and yet we wonder if that’s what you meant, or we say I wonder if that is God’s voice. Continue reading
- Hypocrite! - Hypocrite! I have a dear friend I have known for the better part of 20 years. She is a compassionate woman, always ready to lend a helping hand, to be part of good works, and one of those rare individuals who will go out of her way to maintain friendships over the years. She truly is a rare individual, a good person, but she’s a hypocrite, and I can prove it! In full disclosure, I, too, am a hypocrite, and that is easily proven. I will confess all, in a moment. The word “Hypocrite” had greater power and meaning in Jesus’ day, than today. The word is derived from the ancient Greek language, which was widely spoken at the time. It comes from the Greek word hypokritēs. The word’s literal meaning was “actor”. In those ancient times, the theater was the major source of entertainment and the performers were all hypocrites, by definition. Continue reading
- More than Conquerors? - More than Conquerors? Question: If Christ died for us, then what in the whole world can make us doubt God’s love for us? Let us be clear about this, the Love of God is not something we can purchase in a Christian bookstore, maybe on the “Sale” table. Another question: What did you do to become a Christian? You know, was it your baptism? Was it your prayer surrendering your life to Jesus Christ? Was it the tithing, the service within the church or community? What did you do that made you a Christian? Carl Barth, in his Epistle on Romans, writes, “Rightly understood, there are not Christians; there is only the eternal opportunity of becoming Christian – an opportunity at once accessible and inaccessible to all people.” Continue reading
- You’re Leaving Us? - You’re Leaving Us? Time after time, throughout the book of John, over an extended span of Biblical weeks, Jesus has spoken of the future, one in which He will be taken from them, and, in His absence, they would need to proceed with His work. Throughout the book of John we see resistance on the part of the disciples to accept what He is telling them. These are goodhearted followers of Jesus, and yet the idea of proceeding without Him is inconceivable. He’s the one that does the ministry, He’s the one that has done amazing things. How can we carry on? Jesus is telling His disciples (and us) about how He must return to His Father in Heaven because He wants them to have peace, and they would know He has not abandoned them/us. Continue reading
- If Only You Had Been Here! - If Only You Had Been Here! Was this a turning point for his disciples? Did it take the raising of a dead Lazarus to life to cause the disciples to believe? After all, they bore witness to calming the sea, healing of lepers, giving sight back to a blind man, feeding of thousands -- miracles all. Yet, did it take one more miracle to make the difference? As you read the above passage do you wonder why Jesus was so angry? Who was he upset with? Mary? Martha? The disciples? The teachers of the law? You? Me? Who? I think it was the sea of disbelief that Jesus found there in Bethany. Continue reading
- Disposition and Deeds - Disposition and Deeds: The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in motive because he has been made good by the grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing Is right-being. Jesus Christ came to put into any man who would let Him a new heredity which could exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus says -- if you are My disciple you must be right not only in your living but in your motives, in your dreams, in the recesses of your mind. You must be so pure in your motives that God Almighty can see nothing to censure. Continue reading
- Laugh, You Saints! - Laugh, You Saints! Imagine this: You’re in your mid 30’s and you and a group of friends have made a decision to spend seven or eight days hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail. Making all the arrangements is complicated but finally all the details are worked out and you begin your hike. As your group is walking along, what are you doing? Well, of course, you’re admiring the scenery and the beauty of the land you’re walking through; the mountains, the Lakes, the forestland. Maybe the weather takes a slight turn and you find yourself walking in the rain, but you’re equipped for that and you find some joy in that very experience. Now imagine the same thing but now you’re a disciple the Jesus of Nazareth. You are hiking the Galileeian Trail, visiting towns along the way, a ministry of sorts. As you, Jesus, and your circle of friends hike along what are you doing? Continue reading
- Balaam’s Donkey - Balaam’s Donkey: Do you know the story of Balaam’s donkey? It’s in the book of numbers. You say you don’t read the book of Numbers? Allen Jackson says not even God reads the book of Numbers. Jackson says, “Look He didn’t even give the book a proper name”. That’s a joke. The story of the donkey, also the story of Balaam, as a bit confusing. The prophet Balaam has been instructed by God to go and meet Balak, the feared king of Moab. Balaam sees an opportunity to cash in on both the order from God and the invitation from Balak. This angers God, and an Angel of the Lord blocks his pathway. The donkey sees the Angel, and turns aside into a field. Balaam, who does not see the Angel, beats the poor beast and forces it back on the path. This happens three times, then God opened the mouth of the donkey and God’s will is made clear. Continue reading
- Baptism of the Holy Spirit - Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Robert Morris is one of my favorite TV theologians and I have learned much about the meaning of Holy Scripture from his many telecasts. However, his treatment of Baptism really brought me up short. From an early age to the present moment, I have always seen baptism as a singular sacrament, whether it occurs as an infant and the baby is dedicated to God, or as an adult where an intentional decision has been made to follow Christ. One Baptism. Then I heard, and read, Morris baptisms, 3 baptisms. Three! First, the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ when we accept Jesus as our Lord. It was the Holy Spirit who drew us to be born again. Continue reading
- No Pentecost, No Power - No Pentecost, No Power: Bill Graham said, “Without Pentecost (the infilling of the Holy Spirit), the disciples would have been powerless to spread the Good News of the gospel.” How true is that? What came into your life when Christ came into your life? I’ll tell you -- The whole package! Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Along with the Triune God, came gifts, so numerous and extensive that we can barely comprehend. Think about the amazing benefits that He brings to our lives...Power, Love, Fruit and Gifts. Continue reading
