I was at a retreat center recently on a cold, windy drizzly day. I had a raincoat, boots and a sweater but even with all that, I still didn’t want to wander outside too much. The dark colors, broken limbs, dead leaves, gray sky and harsh wind all reminded me of the seeming death in […]
“Therefore, my God, I give thanks and praise Your glorious name. All things come from You, and I can only give You what comes from Your hand” – 1 Chronicles 29:14 The world tells us to always own things, not rent. We all know, renting is not wise financially for the long-term. Some people can’t […]
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 ESV The process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly is one of the most dramatic natural phenomena that I know. The poor caterpillar only knows one world….climbing on limbs and stems eating leaves. Caterpillars are slow and are significantly susceptible […]
I was at a local County Fire & Rescue Department recently conducting training when everyone’s radios began to squawk with alarms. Two fire captains launched into action and left what I thought was quite valuable training! 😉 A call had gone out for a house fire. Not too soon later they returned to […]
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 ESV ~~~ At Easter we celebrate a great victory at a terrible cost. The agonizing work Christ completed on […]
John 3:18 reminds us of a wonderful resolution to a horrific reality. M Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. M Jesus didn’t come to earth to condemn us…we were already that way […]
I want God’s favor on my life as I know you do. However, my go-to response to gain God’s favor was to do all the things Christians are supposed to do. Have a quiet time, study my Bible, pray, help little old ladies across the street. These are wonderful ways to love […]
I love the near-instant satisfaction of working in the yard. When it’s tended to regularly the results can be fabulous. Just like our soul. Tending to and caring for the health of our soul can result in its blossoming into the wonderful entity God intended. The opposite is also true, right? My work […]
We seem trained to think of the worst about things at times…. If I don’t get this life insurance, all heck will break loose. If I don’t get this new toothpaste, I’ll get gengivitus. If I doing use high-perfomance gasoline, my gas mileage will suffer! If I don’t drink the new Corona Premier, I’ll never […]
Nature sometimes shouts about God. While enjoying this lake at a retreat recently, I noticed something quite simple and wonderful. When the water was calm, the surface nearly perfectly reflected the beauty of the shoreline. If the shoreline represents God, we want to reflect Him, just as this water reflects the trees. When our […]