It’s always wonderful when the sun shines brightly in the midst of winter. it’s like we get an opportunity to remember – that winter is only a season, and brighter days are ahead. I believe it is like that in our lives as well. Every now and then we get that bright, illuminating light coming into our lives, giving us clarity of purpose and unmistakable direction. How I cherish those moments. read more...
A friend of mine who lives in Delaware told me yesterday that she won’t be going to work because the governor of the state has declared a state of emergency – you can walk on the streets, but you can’t drive! Thirty inches of snow last week and thirty inches of snow this week have rendered road travel impossible! No, it’s not just Washington D.C. that is ravaged with snow – the entire east coast had a downfall that has affected countless numbers of lives. While my friend gets paid whether she is at her job or not, what about those people who don’t? What about those people who are making a daily wage with no benefits? What about the many children whose main meal is eaten at school? It kind of puts things in perspective when you consider that a sudden natural calamity can greatly alter your world! read more...
The gospel message is a simple message – Jesus Christ who is the Son of God, came to earth and lived a sinless life, died on a cross for the sins of the whole world, conquering death by rising from the dead, enabling us to live a new life by the power of the Holy Spirit. We who come to faith in Christ accept this simple truth and some of us by the grace of God recognize that by doing so we enter into a life where miracles happen! read more...
Every time I begin to read the Old Testament through and come to the wilderness experience in the desert, the picture I have in my mind is that of a dry and barren land with no trees, no vegetation, and very little provision of any kind. Now knowing a little bit about history, I know that nomadic people are very resourceful, but when I come to the part in Exodus where Moses was told to erect the tabernacle and look at the specific details, and the specific materials that God was requiring, I get a little dumbfounded. All of these things were in the wilderness? I know that the Israelites “plundered the Egyptians” before they left – but did they have all these things, or were they somehow there in the wilderness, in the desert? This is one of the first things I am going to ask when I get “home’ – after praising God for making it in of course! read more...
I heard a message on Nehemiah yesterday – he is one of my favorite people. Nehemiah speaks to me of the person I want to be. Most of us have dreams, many of us have passion for those dreams, few of us pursue our dreams, and of that number, only a small number are willing to do the work that it takes for those dreams to become a reality! read more...
Lately I have had more computer problems than I have ever had. Trying to open programs, trying to stay connected to the internet, recovering files that seem to have disappeared. Trying to get my work done in a timely manner is becoming increasingly difficult. The frustration level is climbing! read more...
I love to read the stories of the children of Israel as they journeyed to the Promise Land. It is so clear that they were not the reason for their season. It was their God who over and over moved in their behalf. As I was reading my devotion the other day I noticed how that it was repeated over and over that God delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians with a “strong hand:” read more...
Fasting is not the most well received word, even in the church. We love to praise God, we may even love to hear God’s Word – we love to serve Him – but there are not many of us who would run to sign up for a life of consecration that majors on fasting! read more...
One of my all-time favorite Christian artists is Larnelle Harris. There is a song he sings that is in my heart today:
…
Chorus
Were it not for grace
I can tell you where Id be
Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere
With my salvation up to me read more...
The prophet Elijah had prophesied that there would be no rain for three years in Israel. After a dramatic presentation at Mount Carmel where God made it very clear before Israel who was God, Elijah told Ahab that it was going to rain. He told him this, though there was no cloud in the sky! read more...