Looking for an earlier Watchword?
- Change of Heart - Change of Heart: How do you change a person’s heart? I can understand how someone could change another’s mind with facts and a persuasive argument. But how does one change a person’s heart? Sometimes there is confusion between a mind-set and a heart-set. Both can be difficult to deal with. I suppose that both could cause a breach between friends, depending on the topic or the circumstance. I believe that our mind-set is something over which we have control. You make up your mind to take a stand, or to do something, to say something, or to believe something. Your decision might be influenced by others, or by circumstance, or even by the weather. Your heart-set, on the other hand, is different. Your heart-set is influenced by factors that might have been placed on your heart at a very early age. Continue reading
- Philippians 4:13 - Philippians 4:13: Philippians 4:13 is a favorite Bible verse for so many people. I’ve heard different versions of that verse, not as written but their own version, maybe with a secular twist, implying that God will give me the strength to live my life anyway I wish. Wherever in the world did we get the idea that we can take a verse from the Bible , and redefine it anyway we want to fit our circumstance? Paul’s words reflect a spiritual teaching that nothing is impossible with God. We see it reiterated in Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27 and Luke 1:37. Then Paul repeats it in Romans 8:31, that if God is for us, who can be against us? We can even dig deeper into the Old Testament where Jeremiah 32:17 tells us that nothing is too hard for the Lord. Continue reading
- Lament (Reprise) - Lament (Reprise): In light of the tragedy that occurred in Afghanistan recently, I thought a great deal about the families of the 200+ lives that were lost, their grieving that continues long after the memorials, the hymns, the prayers. Here’s an old-fashioned Biblical word for you: Lament. Yes, like “Lamentations”, but what does it mean to lament? Is it like grief that many of us are familiar with. I thought I had an idea, until I looked it up in my Webster’s. Here is what I found: Lament, a mourning, wailing, to feel deep sorrow. To regret deeply. It is also a literary and musical term meant to convey deep sadness. Well here’s another definition, or at least a different application. Lament is an important concept in the Old Testament, and one deeply ingrained into the Jewish mindset. In some ways, it was closely related to repent, a turning from evil. For those in Jerusalem it was a privilege, bringing their deepest hurts, or struggles to God who cares for us. In lament, we know God as a caring and active spiritual entity, Continue reading
- God’s Church – Part 3 - God’s Church - Part 3: This past Sunday, our Pastor preached on the topic of what is happening within our churches. With the harshness of truth, he cited many of the changes that have shaken our church over the past 20 years, that have left many of us wondering about the future of our congregation. The change has been in elements of mission, for there is so much in our history, that is embedded in our memories of the way “it used to be” that makes it hard to look at where we are now, and what will be. We revel in the power of a thriving Church, every pew filled, beautiful organ music and choirs, outreach, and planning and dinners, and on and on, all of which attracted that mighty congregation. That stopped working years ago but the image is still there in the frontal lobes of the membership. Continue reading
- God’s Church – Part 2 - God’s Church - Part 2: The Book of Revelation is best tackled with a rich, creative imagination. It is a book filled with images and symbols, but at its very core, Revelation is a book of hope. But Revelation is also a book of warning! Things are not as they should be in the churches. Christ calls the churches to commit to living in righteousness, and we need to understand what that commitment means is the key to determining God’s purpose for the church, specifically, your church. You may not understand at this time what is happening, but God’s church is following God’s purpose. Continue reading
- God’s Church – Part 1 - God's Church - Part 1: How often have you heard someone saying they don’t understand. Maybe you have said that yourself when grappling with a difficult or complex set of circumstances. I don’t understand what he’s saying, or I don’t understand differential equations, or I don’t understand how to program my computer. So, on and on it goes, each time revealing our lack of understanding of the complexities found in our physical world. Ah, but how about your/my understanding of our faith and the spiritual world? This world that God has placed us in, has gifted us, has given us a Savior, sometimes confounds our understanding. Do we understand the source of that confusion? At the heart, do we have an understanding of the way in which our Creator God works? Continue reading
- Patience - Patience: I have a picture in an old family album of little Stanley, age 6 or so, sitting on the top step of our front porch in Steubenville, Ohio, my little bag lunch beside me, waiting to be picked up by our youth group for an excursion to the park. The picture of a child’s impatience. Waiting is so hard and waiting for Jesus is especially hard as we consider our vulnerability and mortality. There are times when we feel like our faith is being tested, we seem to have no direction, no purpose, and we wait. At times like that it’s helpful to know that God is active for us. God through the Holy Spirit is sensitive to our sense of mortality and He helps us in our weakness, and prays for us and with us. Continue reading
- The Prayer Lesson - The Prayer Lesson: Several years ago, I was doing the children’s message, and the topic was prayer. There were about twelve kids gathered around me, all sitting on the floor in front of the altar. Then I asked, if I said let’s pray, for what you do. This really surprised me, because they all bowed their heads and folded their hands. Where did these kids learn all that? At home, under the powerful influence of mom and dad. There is no suggestion in this gospel reading that Jesus urged his disciples to pray. His most powerful influence was setting an example. It should be noted here, that when we ask and receive, when we seek and we find, when we knock and the door is opened to us, all of that is done in the context of conversation with God, called prayer. Continue reading
- Just and Loving - Just and Loving: “If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to die. But God is both just and loving. Therefore, his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice." What do you make of that statement by theologian John Piper? For me, it means that Jesus died in payment for our sins, and that is a clear measure of God's love, justice and forgiveness. Our sins, paid in full. The Resurrection stands as a completed promise of life eternal. Continue reading
- God Willing - God Willing: It was something that I read, that triggered something else that I read somewhere, or simply had thought. The first was a sentence, maybe from a Hemingway novel that for some reason stuck in my mind. It went something like – “He was awake a long time before he remembered his heart was broken”. It wasn’t the “heart-broken” part, it was the time interval between wakefulness and awareness of mind, and surroundings that triggered the second thing. That little interval, a pause in my thinking, has intrigued me. Each one of us has a place within our inner being that speaks to us, from time to time. For some, it’s the conscience. For people of faith, it’s the spirit, the Holy Spirit, that is gifted to us at the start. Continue reading
- Storm at Sea - Storm at Sea: We are still on the Sea of Galilee with the fishermen, alone. Jesus was somewhere else, praying on the shore. They know this lake, this unpredictable body of water that has yielded their livelihood so faithfully. Yet they know that the winds and the storms suddenly crest the heights of Migdal and crash down upon them with only the briefest of warnings. The gentle breeze turned into a strong wind, and the placid waters turned into whitecaps, and the waves splashed into the boat, and their minds shifted to their own survival, their amazement turned to fear. Can you put yourself in that situation? Have you ever been “at sea”? Continue reading
- Fish or Cut Bait? - Fish or Cut Bait? Understand what is going on here. Capernaum at your back and the expanse of the often rough and unpredictable Sea of Galilee stretch out before you. A crowd had formed and the speaker is trying hard to be heard. Then, He steps from the beach into the boat of a fisherman, and finds he can be heard better from 20 yards out. You are in the boat with Peter, the owner, and Jesus is right there with you. You and Peter had been out fishing all night long and had caught nothing in your nets. You’re both exhausted and discouraged. Jesus smiles at you, and tells you to go into deeper water, and put down your nets on one side of the boat for a catch. Continue reading
- 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
