Seek & Find
Seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29 ESV Laughter filled the air as playful taunts and not-always-helpful hints of "Hot! You're hot -…
Blurred Vision
"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Deuteronomy 4:9a Picking up and settling my still-new prescription glasses on…
Speculation or Stewardship
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” 1 Timothy 1:5 Paul’s first epistle to Timothy was a letter of instruction to his spiritual son and protégé, as well…
Borders & Boundaries
Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they…
War Time
“Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.” 1 Timothy 1:18b-19a I dreamed of war last night. Sudden and unexpected. It began very small. One lone invader dropped from the sky, looking more peculiar and out of place than ominous.…
Snuggle Up
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 ESV From my earliest memories, my daddy’s mother was one of my three most…
Solitude
“We live in a world starved for solitude, silence, and privacy, and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” C.S. Lewis, "The Weight of Glory" This statement, originally published in 1949, was taken from one of several articles and messages written and…
Complacent
The LORD within her [Jerusalem] is righteous; He does no injustice; every morning He shows forth His justice; each dawn He does not fail. Zephaniah 3:5 ESV Have you ever been part of or responsible for a project that required the cooperation…
Defined
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places...to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:3,…
Beautiful
Shakespeare’s words paint a bleak and unflattering portrait of beauty. Here are other less-than-complimentary words and phrases frequently associated with descriptions of beauty: Temporary. Quickly fading. Only skin deep. Shallow. Trivial. Superficial. Empty. There are numerous others that could be noted. Growing…
Hope Rising
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you! For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen…
Dying to Save
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us…
Experience It
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 ESV The completed employment application I held in my hand looked Greek to me. That’s because it was. Greek. New Testament Koine Greek. I recognized it because my…
I Hear You
"So they come to you as people do, they sit before you [as] My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, [but] their hearts pursue their [own] gain.”Ezekiel 33:31…
Peace in Troubling Times
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8 ESV We live in troubling times, unsettling days. Uncertainties surround us, even as we continue to enjoy the comfort of our…