1 Chronicles 22:7-10 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. But this word of the LORD came to me… ‘You are not to build a house for my Name… But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest… He is the one who will build a house for my Name… and I will establish the throne of…
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…. (Romans 12:2) Ever wonder why when you get into a really great novel, a favorite hobby or a good movie it seems like you lose track of time? As unfocused and distractible as most of us are, once we really get into something, it seems like our house could burn down around our ears without us even noticing! Natalie Phillips, an English professor at Michigan…
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me…” Jeremiah 9:23-24 Let him who boasts boast in the LORD. 1 Corinthians 1:31 My Boast So, are you tired of the election cycle yet? Every night, it seems, without fail at the dinner hour we get one…
Isaiah 45:9 Does the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?” We have this running joke at the office about… well, me. Actually there are several, but let me share one of them- I occasionally have difficultly leaving the office just one time. I gather up my things to leave for the day and walk out the door. And then as I’m making my way out to my car, or starting my car, or driving out of the…
Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2 (ESV) “Steve, come over here, I want to talk with you.” My boss pulled me off the line and we took a ‘little walk.’ And so started a talk I would never forget. It was the summer of 1981 and I was in eighth grade. All through middle school and high school, I worked at a small commercial greenhouse that sold wholesale flowers to a local…
Then Jesus and his disciples got into a boat. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake and his disciples said, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Matthew 8:23-26 “What is the most frequented command of Jesus in the New Testament?” And so began our time of morning prayer and devotion led by Pastor Bob at our annual Pastoral Planning Retreat. It was early on the…
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this… Psalm 37:4-5 My dog is psychotic. Pepper is a friendly, shy little fellow who has been part of our family for the last 4 years. He’s a mutt, a rescue dog that we acquired from the local dog pound. He’s great with the kids, good on a leash and lazy- he spends 20 hours of…
Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery! We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And so begins the Declaration of Independence, the foundational document of our republic which announced to the…
When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing… So Joshua said to them, each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell…
God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ~Ecclesiastes 3:11 It’s back. I get it every now and again. It comes and goes. A vague dissatisfaction with life. A sense that time is passing me by, a feeling that I’m spinning my wheels and not really making a difference. It comes to me often in half formed or…