Looking for an earlier Watchword?
- Holy Ground - Holy Ground: I have been thinking about the Watchword meditation, Whom Shall I Send, for last Saturday, January 17, and there is an important point that needed to be made, but was omitted. Then in two streaming services on Sunday, the matter of "Holy Ground" was emphasized, which touched on my omission. 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. Before us the fairway dropped down into a valley, framed by the pine forest, and, there, in the far distance, the green, our goal. 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 deer 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. Continue reading
- Let Go! - Let Go!: In a recent Our Daily Bread, there was the story of a missionary couple leaving in West Africa who developed a strong friendship with a man and shed the love of Jesus and the story of salvation with him. Their friend had a lifetime of allegiance to another belief and was a leader in his faith. With sadness, he explained, “I’m like a man fishing with his hands in the stream, who caught a small fish in one hand, but a bigger fish is swimming by, and to catch the bigger one, he had to let go of the smaller one.” As I read that, I thought about much of Jesus’ teachings that speak of putting behind us our old self in order to fully embrace life in Christ. I think about the rich young ruler who seemingly walked away from the key to eternal life because he was very wealthy. I think about Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus about being born-again. 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
- Signs of a Christian - Signs 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
- 50 Chapters - 50 Chapters of Genesis: For the past sixteen months, our Bible study groups has been studying God’s Word as contained in the Book of Genesis. Each week, with the exception of a few weeks at the start of this pandemic, we gathered, taking each chapter as it comes. Sometimes we would spend two or three sessions on one chapter, on rarer occasions we would complete a chapter in one gathering. At times, we have found Genesis to be an exciting adventure causing some to read ahead to learn the rest of the story. At other times, not so much. Yet, from creation to the death of Joseph, 50 chapters, it has been a wondrous tour de force, covering thousands of years. Continue reading
- Fasting - Fasting: What do you think of fasting? Have you done some fasting? How often? Here, just a month from the start of Lent, we frequently speak of “giving up something for Lent.” A couple of my friends have traditionally given up sweets for Lent. Now, there is a true sacrifice. On the other hand, I have joked about giving up liver and onions for Lent, although I never eat that anyway. Not much of a sacrifice. Look at the reading from Isaiah. Is it possible that we have too narrow an understanding of fasting and what God would have us “give up” for Lent, that would prepare us for the true meaning of these forty days leading up to the crucifixion of our Lord? What is God telling us through Isaiah? Continue reading
- Whom Shall I Send? - Whom Shall I Send? I know we have talked about this and related topics, whether we spoke of the Voice of God, Jesus Calling, Nudges from God, or whatever, but Oswald Chambers opens our eyes to a different ‘take’ on God asking “Whom shall I send?” Before I get into that, let me ask you this: Do you think you are a ‘chosen one’? Seriously, do you believe that you are one of God’s “chosen ones”? Don’t let your dang pride get in the way of answering that, or some sense of false modesty. Search your heart for the answer. Is Christ your Lord and Savior, and do you trust Him with your life, really trust Him? Okay, right there in your heart is your answer. Good. Amen. Okay, on to the question, Whom Shall I Send? I can only imagine within the vast expanse of Heaven, when the Holy One asks that question, there is quite as racket of angels, arch angels, guardian angels, angels-in-training, all saying “Send Me, Father!” As a chosen one, do you join in? Send me! Continue reading
- Friday, January 15 - Are You A Simon?: “As Barabbas watched, a woman, tears running down her cheeks, stepped forward and, with a cloth, wiped blood from Jesus’ face. A guard rushed up and roughly pushed her away, she staggered and fell. Jesus reached out a hand, but the guard blocked him. The sight caused Barabbas to turn away in sadness and disgust. There was that mob of men, following Jesus laughing and striking him with scourging whips. Behind them came another man, Simon, dragging a long heavy post. Barabbas realized these were parts of a cross. It was a sad, awful scene…” (From A Life for Barabbas, Chapter 4, Page 14) One Good Friday, not that long ago, I witnessed a dramatic singing of the song “Watch the Lamb” that brought tears to my eyes. The song tells the story of Simon of Cyrene who, with his two boys, happened to be on King David Street in Jerusalem when Jesus passes by. The meditation concludes with Jesus telling us to "Take up my yoke (my cross) and learn of me." Continue reading
- Thursday, January 14 - My Shepherd, My God: It’s hard for me to pray the 23rd Psalm without images coming to mind. I see a green valley, very similar to those I experienced in Colorado or Wyoming. I see a broad and shallow stream flowing, not rushing, simply flowing with cool, fresh water. And in the praying, I am a lamb, totally dependent on My Shepherd. I capture a sense of peace, that I am safe, that I am with my Lord, my Shepherd and my God. This Psalm is a great comfort and encouragement to all of us. Jesus the Christ is our Shepherd who refreshes and restores our life, are soul. 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. Continue reading
- Monday, January 11 - 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 40,000 ‘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
- Saturday, January 9 - The Trainers: This is not a political statement, this is our lives. So, in light of the recent attempt to desecrate our nation, and undermine our democracy, let me offer this from The Sportlight by Grantland Rice: My name is Trouble – I’m a busy bloke. I am the test of Courage—and of class. I find that coward to a bitter yoke, I drive the craven from the crowning pass; Weaklings I crush before they come to fame; But as the red star guides across the night, I trained the stalwart for a better game; I drive the brave into a harder fight. 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
- Thursday, January 7 - God’s Tutorial: Over the last nearly 10 months what have we learned about worship? I mean, what have we learned about giving God all glory, expressing gratitude for the day that is made and offering our prayers for friends and family? Has streaming become a substitute for worship? Has the Pastor become more of a producer of a tech production, then a shepherd for people? Worship is an interesting word. Over the centuries, it has taken on different meanings. Regardless of what meaning we may assign to it now, at the core is praise of God and joyful thanksgiving as described in Psalm 100. Yet the Hebrew word translated “worship” is more often translated as “serve” or “work.” Continue reading
- Tuesday, January 5 - What Say You, Jeremiah? I think we often read Jeremiah 29:11 with a hopeful mind, kind of like a security blanket. We translate: God has a plan for me that is good, so clearly this suffering (this pandemic) I’m going through will end soon and then my flourishing will begin! Sorry, but that is not at all what God was promising to the Israelites, and it’s not what he’s promising us, either. 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 this before. How has this experience changed us? How have we grown? Have we drawn nearer to God as a result? Was that His plan? Continue reading
- Monday, January 4 - Dreams, Visions, Whispers: Have you ever considered the value that dreams may have? I had a professor at Purdue who told me that dreams can be very revealing, if you know how to interrupt them. I never found out if he actually knew how to do that, and he didn’t share his knowledge, if he had any, with me. He may have been trying to get me to think, do you suppose? I’ve never been a really big dreamer when I slept. On occasion, I would have a dream, which I usually attribute to something I may have eaten. I’ve known people who say they have a dream almost every night, and I wonder about that, and about them. When asked about the content, I usually get “I don’t remember the dream when I wake, just that I did dream.” Continue reading
- Saturday, January 2 - In Christ Alone: The Apostle Paul wrote Philippians to his friends, the Christians in Philippi, from his Roman house arrest as he waited for his court appearance before Caesar. It had been ten years since Paul and Silas had founded the church in Philippi, during his second missionary journey. This was the first church established on the continent of Europe, and it is obvious from this letter that as he considers this congregation, it brings him joy. One might say that when Paul prayed for the Philippians, he became happy. It is remarkable to see that Paul’s first reference to his own feelings or frame of mind in this letter is that of joy – though he wrote from as a prisoner facing possible execution. This is Paul’s great singing letter. It was at Philippi that he had sung in prison at midnight, in the company of Silas (See Acts 16). Continue reading
- Friday, January 1, New Years Day - New, Right Out of the Box: Oh, it feels sooo good! Oh, my. I love it! And smell it! Fresh and clean, oh so bright. Just look at that! It almost makes me weep for joy! Not a spot, not a single spot. Don’t do anything…just imagine. Before you, a blank canvas, and you are Van Gogh. You are Gian Bernini. You are DeVinci, 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, you are not Van Gogh, or DaVinci, or Packer, or C.S. Lewis, or Chambers, or Neuwen, but you are you, wrinkles, arthritis and all. Continue reading
- Thursday, December 31, New Year’s Eve - Where Were You? New Year’s Eve. Where were you on this day in…let’s say, 2001? Just twenty years ago. Can you recall? I was in Chicago, staying at the Raphael Hotel, and that night attended the Phantom of the Opera at the Auditorium Theater. See, my Prevagen is working! HA! Impressed? Well, it’s not Prevagen, it’s better. It’s Oswald Chambers! In 1965, I received a gift of a just-off-the-press Golden Book edition of My Utmost for His Highest. Some four or five years later that book became a regular part of my time with the Lord. It accompanied me throughout my life, my travels, etc., for nearly 50 years. In the late 80’s I started noting in the margins where we were and what we were doing, kind of a travel journal. Continue reading
- Tuesday, December 29 - Self-Confession: This morning, 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 me, maybe I would know him better by knowing myself better. Maybe I would know him better as I begin to understand my own frailties, my own sinful nature, my own tendency not to follow his word. Could that be the answer? Do I come to know Jesus at a deeper level when I strip away all the pretense, when I leave all my biases at his feet? Continue reading
