Looking for an earlier Watchword?
- I Shall Not Want - I Shall Not Want: We can all remember painful and difficult seasons of our lives, times when we've felt discouraged and fearful, had no idea where we were going or what we are to do. Those moments when we felt an intense sense of aloneness. What do we do? What did you do? Often times that is when we feel the presence of the Lord. Maybe it comes to you in the music, or a conversation overheard, or what you can see out your window, or just a thought, planted years before that re-emerges. When a person can come to the place in life where they can say with absolute unwavering conviction, 'Yes, but my God is in control,"'there is an awesome sense of strength and assurance that will fill the heart to overflow with an indescribable joy and peace. Continue reading
- The Road Not Taken - The Road Not Taken: In The Road Not Taken, Frost has beautifully laid out our life dilemma, choices and acceptance or regrets. At some point in your life journey, did you choose one route over another, and did it make all the difference? Life is difficult. That's a reality and we know it because we experience it. It is a great truth, perhaps one of the greatest truths, for, once we truly understand and accept that fact, then life is no longer difficult, in the obstacle sense. Why? Because once that truth is accepted, that life is difficult, it no longer matters, it simply is a truth, and we move on to dealing with what follows. We've often heard it said that the life of a Christian is not an easy road to follow. It is a road less traveled, but it's one road that once you truly travel it, there is no other route you wish to be on.The problems that cause the Christian life to be less easy, are also the problems that call us to courage and to use our wisdom; indeed, they serve to create our courage and our wisdom. It's only because of problems and challenges, adversity and loss that we grow mentally and spiritually. Continue reading
- Wrestling with God - Wrestling with God: On August 21, 2002, I underwent surgery to replace my right hip. I have no recollection of wrestling with God, but nevertheless, my hips was a problem and had to be replaced. Maybe I don't understand the concept of ‘wrestling with God’. I do know I struggle with my faith from time to time, hesitant to speak up or show others that I'm a Christian. We struggle and are sometimes conflicted in our understanding of what God is saying to us. We apply our flawed and earth-bound human minds to the task, and it is at that point where I struggle. It’s not that the Bible isn’t perfect, complete, and finished. It is our understanding and application of His Word that is woefully lacking. What God has given us is so much more than we can grasp at any one time. Continue reading
- Ponder Anew and Trust - Mary's Story: Trust. Consider Mary. What thoughts came to her as she watched Jesus grow through childhood, adolescence and into adulthood, and onto His ministry. Many opportunities for her to call to mind what the Angels had told her and those shepherds: “This baby will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High,” and “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Did she question herself, Is this the Messiah, playing there on the floor, stumbling as he learned to walk? Is this the Son of God crying to have his nappy changed or to be fed? But the hardest one, the one that pierced her heart, was what Jesus was going through just above her, as she sat at the foot of the cross. Still she trusted what God had promised. Continue reading
- Does He Know My Name? - Does He Know Me? In a recent My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers makes this statement: “It is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus.” That hit me hard! Did I have a personal relationship with Jesus? Or did I just have a personal relationship with doctrine? Have I missed the best part of my faith walk? If our focus is on the trappings of Christianity instead of getting to know Jesus, intimately, then, yes, we are missing something. Perhaps we should take a page from Mary, or Thomas, or Peter, to overcome our doubt and denial and to see and believe, and to love, and, thus, to deepen and, maybe restore, a personal history with Jesus. Continue reading
- Do As I Have Done - Do As I Have Done: If you listen to the news too much about the election you get the impression that our top candidates are vying for the role of king or queen, with too little emphasis on serving “We the people.” Somewhere I got this old fashioned idea that the leadership of this country should be serving us, to protect us, to make our lives better, not the other way around.This snapshot of Jesus that we have in scripture, has him washing his disciples feet as a lesson on how they should serve one another. Knowing that we should serve one another isn't enough, as defined by whatever measure you use; we must actually serve one another as Christ did for his disciples. Friends that is a heavy lift. It's hard for us to think about taking on the lowliest job in the world for another person as an act of love. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you. Continue reading
- Living Bread, Living Water - Living Bread, Living Water: Living bread and living water, what a feast, what a life-giving feast. The Eucharist, the Body and the Blood. The Word of God, the word made flesh, the living bread of life. And Jesus Christ descends to us. The manna that Jesus refers to in the John passage which was introduced in Exodus 16. This manna, a fine flaky, white-like due substance that appeared on the ground for Israelite consumption was the bread of heaven that God promised to send. His Word descended and fed the people. We come to the Communion rail and we lay our darkness there at the foot of the Cross and in exchange we receive Him, the Living Bread and the Living Water which is His Blood, and like Baptism, we are cleansed with Gods’ love. Continue reading
- Forecast: Storms - Forecast: Storms: Driving late in the afternoon, the news was filled with so many disasters, throughout our country. Take your pick; on the west coast, the east coast and the gulf, racial stresses and, of course, a divisive election. I don’t know how many million people are currently displaced by the raging forest fires in the west. And that’s not even the worst part of it. The air quality is not fit to breathe. I think about the long-range affect over days, weeks, months, and probably years for those people, on top of their loss of homes. For others, floods of rain, heat that taxes our minds and our bodies. And our cry, Help us, Lord, goes out, and while we know He is coming on the storm waters, our patience is tested. How about you? Did it take a storm to open your heart to the presence of the Holy Spirit, that was already there? A Spirit that had been there when you needed to overcome fear, or nervousness or safety or a health crisis, or a loss? Yes? Continue reading
- Preamble to a Miracle - Preamble to a Miracle: Doctor visits and multiple tests followed, the diagnosis undefined, then more tests. Cancer? Liver? This was all dragging my friend down, what could be worse? His sick days were used up, his sole source of income. Then the second shoe dropped; his application for disability was denied! How about you, have you or a loved one been on a downward spiral, where the bad seemed to get worse, and the solution was elusive? Friday’s Watchword, entitled “Wisdom”, had this passage: If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the father. He loves to help. You'll get His help (James 1:5). Is that our standard go to when things are looking bleak and our health, or finances, or our relationships are all somewhere deep in the plumbing that you don't know the way out? Do we rely on the Lord, do we lean back and say “Heavenly Father, I really don't know what to do. I need your help”? Then a miracle happens! Continue reading
- Wisdom? - Wisdom? Sometimes when we read the Message version of the Bible we hardly recognize the…well, message. Sometimes, however, it speaks to us more clearly than, say, King James, even though it is James! In King James, the subject of these verses is right up there in the first sentence. In the Message, the subject is implied. The truth is, it doesn’t matter which version we prefer, it is His Word we are to meditate on each moment of our lives. So, the subject of the passage is wisdom with its related cousin, common sense, implied. Wisdom is spirit-given. Common sense is our choice as we apply wisdom. Continue reading
- Knowing God Better - Knowing God Better: Knowing God better? What does that mean? And how do you do that? Have you ever asked yourself that? Maybe in the course of a morning time with the Lord, reading of scripture or simply praying and thinking about the role of God in your life, did you ever come to that question of how do I know you better, lord? Knowing and serving the Lord is not easy. Each step of the way was fraught with violence. Wycliffe was the first to translate the Bible into a language that common people could read. His hand-written text was finished in the 1370s. Then he was burned alive at the stake. In 1536 Tyndale was executed by strangulation and then burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English. There's got to be balance between our spiritual life, which includes time we spend in prayer, in devotional readings and our earthly responsibilities. Continue reading
- A Miracle? Eh, it’s Science! - A Miracle? Eh, it’s Science!: In the span of our lives we've had opportunities to marvel at, even celebrate circumstances that favored us. Maybe we're really sick and we found medication that cured us that very next day. And we say, Thank you medicine. There are times when you want to dig deeply into a circumstance and find out why it happened. Maybe you Google something online and get an explanation from a scientific viewpoint. Ask yourself, why do I do that? Why are we sometimes hesitant to give God credit? Our Lord does not want burnt offerings, and great sacrifices, he only wants change from our evil ways and attitude of gratitude in the form of repentance. Continue reading
- Who Can Be Against Us? - Who Can Be Against Us? Chapter 8 of the book of Romans is one of several sections of the Bible that I would consider among my favorites, probably do in large part to this section, the last nine verses. In my reading and thinking about this I am reassured, any anxiety I might be having is quelled when I think about that question, Who can be against me if God is for me? And I believe that God is not only for us but he loves us. In those nine verses, Paul asks five questions to draw out the amazing power and privilege of belonging to Jesus Christ. In each one, the answer is clear. Continue reading
- The Rest of the Story - The Rest of the Story: I'm sure some of you will remember Paul Harvey and his radio program entitled The Rest of the Story. hink about this, there are innumerable stories in the Bible where we would dearly love to know the rest of the story. We do not have to dig too deep into the Bible, without encountering a story of a person who encountered Jesus. What happened to Lazarus after he was raised from the dead? Repentance should be accompanied by something, action, behavior, an indication of a true change. John the Baptist said, “Bear fruit that will show your repentance”. Jesus said, “A tree is known by the fruit it produces.” To accept Jesus as Lord and savior is to take on a new life. Continue reading
- Reprise: Happiness Is a Bird - Happiness Is a Bird: Happiness? What happened to your happiness when the pandemic was in full force, and isolation and quarantine began? Did you leave it out there in the parking lot? Perhaps you stood at your window looking out, longing for the return of that orphan, your happiness, that you knew was just out there, shivering in the rain, all alone. That was then, now is now. Maybe happiness is a bird. Flitting around, dancing on your deck, singing you songs and making you smile. Maybe happiness is a bird, pretty to look at, pretty to imagine, that right there within your grasp, adding a shine to your day. Maybe happiness is a bird in the present, not in the past. Happiness in the past is just a memory, it’s not happiness. Happiness is the present, a Praise the Lord moment. Continue reading
- But as for Me… - But as for Me: Tell me, have you ever sat in judgment of another? As you read Joshua’s words, keep in mind that he has led the Israelites across the Jordan River. They had stumbled through the wilderness experience, by divine grace. Recognize that we have stumbled through our own wilderness, and maybe we aren't sure how we got through some of the difficult patches, the crises that have hit us and yet we emerged on the other side. By our own efforts? Luck? Medical science? And, oh yeah, maybe some help from God, do you suppose? God is in ALL OF IT! The good – thank you, Lord. The bad – Help me, Lord. An average day – gratitude expressed. Continue reading
- Artificial Worship? - Artificial Worship: Psalm 50 passage was long, but necessary to capture the whole of God's message. God's people, that would be you and me, going through the motions of worshipping the Lord. With all of our pomp and circumstance, long impassioned sermons, special music; yet falling short of a sacrifice of our thankfulness. When we read Micah and the question he asks: "What does the Lord require of me?" The answer is not to sacrifice livestock, but thankfulness and love. And what does the Lord require? To do just, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? That humble-thing is always hard! Then the new question becomes, do we take God's word seriously or do we read the words and and go our own way without any change in behavior or thought and no sacrifice to the Lord. Continue reading
- Whatever Is Unjust - Whatever Is Unjust: Whatever is untrue, whatever is unholy, whatever is unjust, whatever is ugly, what if is of ill repute, whatever is vicious, whatever is cowardly, whatever is unfair -- speak of these things, think of these things. I know that sounds harsh and unbending but it seems that these are the watchwords or the stocks in trade of the media, of our political landscape, of the lack of compassion and understanding between peoples. We're seeing violence pop up in the midst of peaceful demonstrations. We hear leaders in government going off the rails and advocating unchristian sentiments. And you wonder how can this be a foundation for a better world? Continue reading
- Salt and Light - Salt and Light: In Jesus day, salt was a valuable commodity. Roman soldiers were sometimes paid with salt, giving rise to the phrase “Worth his salt”. Jesus didn't stop there, he went on to combine salt and light, comparing that image to the good deeds that have a contagious effect, reflecting the love of Christ. When Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world, He gives us a great compliment but assigns great responsibility. Jesus didn't stop there, he went on to combine salt and light, comparing that image to the good deeds that have a contagious effect, reflecting the love of Christ. When Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world, He gives us a great compliment but assigns great responsibility. Continue reading
- Proclamation - Proclaim Jesus is Lord?: In a recent sermon Allen Jackson spoke on the need for us, as Christians following Jesus, to do those things that please him and follow his word. When we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior that wasn't just a nod of the head, there was a commitment that we would follow Jesus and do good works which God prepared us to do. The John 17 passage is part of a prayer that Jesus offered to the Almighty God about us and our commitment. In his sermon, pastor Jackson challenged those listening to put their life where their words were and proclaim them, a bold clear statement that I am a follower of Jesus. Continue reading
