Matthew 16:23 “Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” From the war on terror to the war on poverty…good intentions can run amuck when we look at life Continue Reading…
Psalms 37:4 “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” “Won’t he be surprised when I live to be 90!” That was my 88-year old mother’s reaction when the doctor who discharged her from the hospital suggested she get Hospice care. Her congestive Continue Reading…
2 Peter 1:10-11 “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble….” When your cable company keeps you on hold, you get angry. When you get angry, you go blow off steam. When you go blow Continue Reading…
Matthew 14:28-29 “‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” “What keeps pushing you to grow closer to the Lord?” questioned my student as Continue Reading…
Joshua 7:7 “…If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!” Beyond our victories. Beyond our defeats. Beyond our somewhere-in-the-middles. If we hope to fulfill God’s destiny in our lives, we must refuse to settle for anything less than God’s plan. But sometimes it’s Continue Reading…
Matthew 19:17 “Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good.’” “Want some more coffee?” “No thanks, I’m good.” “Can I get you anything else?” “Nope, I’m good.” I’m good. It’s a common idiom we use these days. It’s not intended to say we possess a certain Continue Reading…
Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God….” Do you have trouble being present in the present? I appreciate multi-tasking. Although a recently added word to our lexicon, the feat of being able to do several things at one time didn’t begin with this generation. Millennials who text, Continue Reading…
Galatians 1:10 “If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” “You don’t have to try so hard; you don’t have to give it all away….You don’t have to try, try, try, try, try….” The lyrics streaming over the radio caught my attention. Continue Reading…
Jeremiah 38:12-13 “Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, ‘Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.’ Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern.” “Be kinder than necessary.” That’s the motto South Carolina governor Continue Reading…
Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore everyone who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” “In the interest of full disclosure…” We sometimes hear that disclaimer in Continue Reading…