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Forgiving as God has Forgiven You
Forgiveness is something we all need, something we all are happy to receive, yet it is at times something that seems impossible to do. God has a lot to say in His word about His great gift of forgiveness and about our need to forgive others.
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What can I give the Lord when I have nothing left?
I grew up in a tradition that observed the season of Lent. Every year as a young person we were encouraged to sacrifice something in order to honor the sacrifice of Jesus’ death on the cross and to help us as believers to focus on the Lord as we prepared for Easter. I believe there are a vast number of ways that Lent is used and observed, but as a young person this is what I understood it to be. My most memorable “sacrifice” was soda. I remember because I was in the sixth grade and after my 40 days of soda sobriety, I can honestly say I have never…
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This is My Father’s World
Maltbie Babcock, a nineteenth century pastor, often said, “I’m going out to see my Father’s world” as he left for his morning walks. Babcock was an admirer of nature and penned the poem, “This is My Father’s World”, which was later put to music.[1] I enjoy singing this hymn, especially when I am out in my Father’s world. Recently, I was reminded of this hymn as I was learning about flowers as companion plants to vegetables and fruits. Several parallels to my life unfolded. Historically, planting flowers in vegetable gardens has been a common practice. For various reasons (including food, beauty, and medicinal access) vegetable/flower gardens were placed near kitchens.…
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For God So Loved His Faves
Sunday School Chronicles Me: Is favoritism a good thing or a bad thing? Kids: Bad! Me: Why? Kid 1: Because other people will feel bad. Kid 2: They’ll feel jealous. Kid 3: They’ll be mad. Me: Yes! All of that! Did you know the Bible talks about favoritism? Kids: No. Me: It does! Let’s say you’re throwing a party. Two dudes walk in. One is dripped out in every brand name singers talk about. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Prada. And the other one walks in rocking Tar-zhey. Kids: Tar-zhey???? Kid 4: You mean Target? Me: I said what I said. So you sit the brand named dude at the head…
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The Jar I Broke
Society pages dished details of Simon’s soirees. Pictures showcased jetsetters and dignitaries alike in attendance. The article closed announcing the date and guest list for his next gathering. Jaw squarely set, I knew I had to attend. You know when you really want to meet that one person? You follow their activities. You listen to others share their experiences which only intensifies your own hunger. I would attend. I didn’t care that it was invitation only. I wouldn’t let an all-male guest list derail me. Candles glimmered as shadows danced in the darkened room. The opulence dazzled. Resolute, I walked beneath the arched entry with my shoulders back, head high,…
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Are Your Ready for Perseverance in Your Life?
Is something going on somewhere in your country, town, neighborhood, or family that has someone upset, nervous, or in panic mode? It might even be even you! Cancer. Disaster. Job loss. Death. Enemy attack. If you like to plan and control your environment so that your loved ones (and yourself) can rest, relax, and be productive, these interruptions to life are very hard to bear. What do you do? Do you try to escape to something that makes it go away for a while—a feel-good movie, book, or a retreat? But then you get back to the rough-and-tumble of real life and find that whatever is stressing you is still…
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The Main Event…Lessons Learned and Embraced from the Ark
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to have been Noah and his family on the Ark? Do you think it might have been a bit noisy? Perhaps a bit smelly, hot, dark, and uncomfortable? Living on the ark for months would have been an experience and a memory no one would forget. Yet only Noah and his family were chosen to experience God’s saving grace during the main event of judgement that God poured out upon the earth and mankind. Noah’s experience must have been an adventure of a lifetime. Last week my husband and I, along with our two grandsons, had the opportunity to visit…
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Guided By an Unseen Hand
It was a year to remember—but not for the reasons I hoped. Just two weeks after finding out we were expecting our third child, my husband came home with news we always feared. He’d be moving on from the coaching job where he’d served for thirteen years. Our family would be moving on from the community where we’d raised our children. We walked forward into an unseen, unknown, and unexpected future. Where would our soon-to-be kindergartener go to school? Where would we live? How would we make ends meet? The uncertainty continued for months. My husband jumped on a seemingly endless carousel of job interviews before ending up at a…
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What Does Loving God Look Like?
As parents and teachers, we invest a lot of time into the lives of our children. As Christian parents and teachers our hearts desire is to see our children walk in truth even as John tells us was his delight, 2 John 1:4 “I rejoiced greatly because I have found some of your children living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded us.” One of our goals in the classroom and at home is to have our children learn obedience. The question we must ask ourselves is how the two intersect. If we really want out children to walk in the truth of the commands God has given us,…
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The Greatest of The Big Three is Love
During February we emphasize love. Even though Hallmark has turned love into a marketing campaign Scripture agrees that it is worth celebrating. And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 Since the big three* are often grouped together, we can’t speak of love without its companions—faith and hope. The Apostle Paul describes how they intersect when he greets the church at Colossae: We heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard…
