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Soul Drought
Pulling into our driveway after a two week absence we were horrified to see our young tree planted a year ago standing with half it’s leaves gone – now on the ground, blowing around, dead, brown. And note – this is not the season for leaf dropping. How could this happen in only 2 weeks? It isn’t hard to acknowledge the results of lack of water and the impact of drought on grass, trees, plants, flowers, animals and crops especially in Texas August heat. There’s not enough water to sustain the root systems. It’s just harder to realize this is not unlike what happens to our souls when they are…
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“Be the Bridge” to Racial Unity
Never was this more blatantly evident than the bold statement made by the believers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Even Southern Living magazine, August 2015 issue picked it up … “the horrific shooting that took the lives of nine churchgoers threatened to rip the city of Charleston, South Carolina, apart … but by responding with public displays of compassion, love and unity, Charleston has shown us how to move forward. Instead of riots, there were church services and vigils all over town.” They modeled for the world – “Therefore, as God’s chosen people…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each…
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STORMS and the PRESENCE of CHRIST
Spring storms in the Hill Country of Texas often come without a lot of notice. The deluge of water with high winds and the potential accompanying tornadoes can produce an amazing amount of damage quickly. These storms can dump so much water in a particular area that almost immediate flooding occurs creating life threatening situations. These storms are not unlike the suddenness of personal storms. Those that are unexpected and certainly were not anticipated; those storms that “dump” so much “water” on you that you are not sure of survival as you gasp and try to catch your breath. Such have been the unexpected personal storms my husband and I…
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Offering the Gospel to This Generation
Are high school students interested in the Gospel? They may not think they are, but underneath the outward façade when compelled to consider, the answer is YES! After spending a week, as an adult guests, in the highly charged atmosphere of a Young Life camp in the mountains of Colorado – we saw firsthand the hard fought ground leaders had plowed for a year before bringing their group of kids to camp yield a positive response to the claims of Christ. Arriving on 7 different busses 450 high school students from 4 different states were saturated for a week in an atmosphere of fun, acceptance, laughter, being lead, music, lively…
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Graduation 2015 – Going to College?
Jonathan Morrow’s most recent “thinkChristianly” email post Students Need A Real World Faith questions the preparedness of students who are getting ready to graduate and head to college. He states, “Unprecedented freedom is just around the corner…they can almost taste it! Soon they will packing up and heading off to college–away from mom, dad, their youth pastor, church, and many of their friends. Are they ready?” Morrow offers “around 50% of them will disengage from their Christian faith during their college years. But, (he also says) they can be prepared – or at least have a fighting chance!” A great graduation present would be one or all of the…
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Holy Week – Jesus’ Prayer in the Garden
After sharing the Passover meal Jesus and his disciples begin walking toward the Garden of Gethsemane. Anticipating what was going to happen to him in a matter of hours, Jesus goes ahead to a place to pray asking Peter, James and John to wait with Him while he prays. He was deeply distressed and troubled (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14: 32-41; Luke 22:40-46). He falls to the ground burdened with excessive sorrow. He prays to the Father for Himself, for His disciples and for all who would ever believe – for you and for me. Can you imagine what it would have been like to overhear the prayer conversation between Jesus…
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FRO*ZEN
Weeks of record low temperatures of – 42, – 26,-17,-11 are causing a freezing phenomenon. Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory reports that the lakes are now more than 85 % iced over. The world’s most famous waterfall, Niagara Falls is frozen enough that professional Canadian ice climber, Will Gadd, was able to climb to the top of the frozen left side. It is not supposed to thaw until May. Even in the Texas Hill Country are recent reports of trees iced over creating a winter wonderland effect that rivals the graphics in the movie “Frozen”. We know according to Webster’s Intercollegiate Dictionary that frozen means the state of “being treated,…
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Ash Wednesday – what questions should I ask?
Today is Ash Wednesday…what is it and should I participate? This day of repentance, which for many in the Western church marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period of fasting before Easter following the example of our Lord who spent 40 days in the desert to fast and pray (Matthew 4:1-11). It is also known as the “Day of Ashes,” so called because on that day at church the faithful have their foreheads marked with ashes in the shape of a cross. In the Old Testament ashes were used for two purposes: as a sign of humility and mortality and as a sign of sorrow and repentance for…
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The Necessary Sovereignty of God
"Everything is necessary that He sends and nothing can be necessary that He withholds." John Newton This quote from our pastor's sermon on Romans 8 last Sunday are hard words and require untmost dependence in the absolute goodness of God and trust in His sovereign care, especially when what you think is necessary is withheld. Otherwise you would go mad to think that the sovereign Creator of the universe is powerless to stop or thwart evil. Modeled by God when He sacrificed His son on the cruel, terrible cross, Christ's death was necessary. And, it was not necessary for Him to withhold Jesus's dying on the cross. Where would be…
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Life Without the Holy Spirit and Other “what if’s”?
Following up the season of Christmas and settling in to the New Year 2015 join me in engaging these “what if” questions and the ultimate trajectory their reality would lead to. Doing this offers a startling outcome. Consider with me for a moment: What if God had not given? What if He had not provided a model? What if God had not had compassion on the lost and needy world and had not sent a rescuer to offer The Ultimate Gift of Himself? Would anyone in any century, in any geographical location EVER, ever been able to conceive from within their fallen, separated from God, sinful, selfish grid of seeing…
