All in Faith/Trust
A Multiplication Lesson
Yesterday, a sweet friend presented me with a lovely figurine of a little hummingbird drinking from the throat of a tiny orange trumpet flower. I was transported back to a time several years before.
In Christ?
I occasionally wear my father’s WWII ID bracelet. He wore it as a pilot and, tragically, as a prisoner of war. When reading Paul’s words of Christians being “in” Christ, I glanced at the I.D. bracelet and reflected on Dad’s time “in” a guarded compound—a very different experience from being “in Christ.”
March Madness
Paul’s words in Philippians 4:9 remind us that faith is much the same. It’s not just about
knowing Scripture or listening to sermons; it’s about putting what we’ve learned into
action. Just as a basketball player must apply their training in real-game situations, we
are called to live out our faith in daily life—showing kindness, practicing patience, and
standing firm in truth.
The Impact of Fear
In the picture above, Duke and I are on our daily walk. Normally Duke walks by my side. However, notice his leash is tight, and he has a cowardly position. Every morning when we walk by this certain home, Duke shifts to the center of the street, getting as far away from the house as possible. Something happened near this home that scared Duke. Out of fear, Duke has left my side.
Rescued from Emptiness
Duke, our labrador retriever, seldom retrieves a ball in our yard. However, the first time we took Duke to our land, he quickly found the pond and plunged in. Don threw a stick into the water. Duke immediately swam to the stick and brought it back. Duke retrieved the stick again and again and again. With his webbed feet, he is designed to swim and retrieve. He naturally does what he’s created to do.
Do What He Says
Remember when your parents said, just do what I say? Did you ever tell yourself, I’ll never say to my kids, because I said so? Did you keep that vow? I said it as well, and I broke that vow as well. I think God says the same thing to us!
Grateful for Mercy
On a calm day as I sailed across the Sea of Galilee on a boat tour in Israel, I could not help but think of this story…
Listen and Live Freely
Recently on a trip from the country into the city, I drove by a dense forest. It looked beautiful from a distance. But as I looked closely, I could see most of the trees were covered in thick vines that had climbed to the tree-tops, blocking the light from reaching them. This was not a healthy forest.
Seek Heaven
When I was young, I thought the Colorado mountains were so beautiful that as a child I asked my mom, “Are we in heaven?”
What if… we really could just drive into heaven?
What if… it could be that easy to get there?
Interludes
In the big picture it seems to me we are in the greatest interlude of all, from Eden to Eternity. God’s intent was not that we’d so quickly be tossed out of paradise to spend our days in disarray. But we chose to sin, so we are in limbo as have been God’s people from Adam down through Abraham to Moses to Daniel till Jesus. Ah, but this one will end in the perfect peace of eternity future.
Mat-Carrying, Roof-Raising Friends
It didn’t take long for Jesus’ ministry to take off following His forty days of temptation in the desert (4:1-13). Luke is peppered with brief snapshots of Him teaching, healing, connecting with the people: the news about (Jesus) spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of all their sicknesses (5:15).
An Aroma that Impacts
We believers are to be the fragrance of Christ in this world. As you and I are filled with the Spirit, His fragrance flows through our words and actions. Is the fragrance of Christ permeating the world through you? Are you so filled with the Spirit of Christ, that His fragrance can’t help but flow from you?
God-given Knowledge
Mankind is unique among all of God’s creation. Within us, the Lord has placed an innate knowledge that more than this physical world exists. There is more to life than what we see and experience. God has set the knowledge of eternity in our hearts.
Thanksgiving is More Than a Holiday: Remember God
There are times when we feel alone as if God has sent us into exile, like the Israelites felt when exiled to Babylon for seventy years. The pain can be excruciating. Questions may arise that may lead to denial of the reality of our situation. We often cry when we recall our familiar, comfortable, and safe place where we felt God’s presence.
Jesus is With You – Through Life Challenges
We have all had those days of facing more complications than smooth sailing. We long for the postcard picture of the quiet beach, beautiful waters, and golden sand. Our little paradise far from problems.
The Greater Wealth
Think of your favorite scene that brings you contentment. It brings peace, no more want. It is the thought that if I could just live here… life would be good! Is it a home with a beautiful view of a landscape of lush rolling green fields? Or a beachside view? Or maybe a home with a view of a mountain range?
Reverence and Awe
Wow, Hebrews is intense! I am becoming more and more aware of that since I’ve been sauntering through its pages. I see that even God’s man Moses, at the base of Mount Sinai (12:21) said, “I am trembling with fear”.
Owl Eyes
What a lovely May day it was. As I gazed out my back window, mesmerized by the deep blues of the hydrangeas and the emerging pinks and reds of the roses, a couple of horn-rimmed eyeballs caught my attention. What in the world was an owl doing in my pecan?