Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. I will praise the LORD all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Psalm 146:1-2 The alarm goes off this morning louder than usual, the cheery drone of Mike Moss and WTOP cuts into my head like a buzz saw. What is wrong with that man? He must take happy pills to be so cheerful at this hour. Uuhh… stayed up too late again last…
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. Psalm 125:1 Ah, the last midweek devotional of 2010. What to write, what to write…? The week between Christmas and New Year is always enjoyable to me. It feels like a seam or pause in the year; the middle space between what was (2010) and what will be (2011). Things here at the church slow down a bit, I get to enjoy the…
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son… Galatians 4:4 Ok, it’s crunch time; Wednesday afternoon and my personal to-do list is as clean and untouched as new-fallen snow. I’ve already rescheduled one appointment (sorry Andy!). More “adjustments” are coming. The hand-crafted gift baskets with homemade jams and ornaments that I wanted to give to the church staff will have to wait for another year. Why are the words “Christmas” and “rush” so often synonymous?…
In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (NASB, 1 Thessalonians 5:18). This past Sunday was priceless. We interviewed some children in front of the congregation as they moved down the aisles loaded with Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. Like an over-caffeinated news reporter Pastor Bob moved around the auditorium shoving a live mic in front of unsuspecting children. “What are you thankful for!?” He asked. That’s risky business, you never know quite what…
…You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14 Seventy-two years ago, this past weekend the Orson Welles radio drama War of the Worlds premiered as a Halloween special on the CBS radio network. The hour-long show was a series of simulated news bulletins that “interrupted” the usual programming to detail an alien invasion in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, a small farming community…
Preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season…. 2 Timothy 4:2 “Well, I had a little ‘Now’s the Time’ Moment!” today. Pam announced to me Monday afternoon as I walked into the house. “Wow, tell me about it!” I exclaimed. Having preached on the topic of seizing opportunities to share our faith with others this past Sunday, it doesn’t surprise me at all that God would open up opportunities in the coming week. I find that regardless of the…
You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it. Isaiah 45:8 All right, so I’ve been soaked to the skin three times today. I ‘m still at the church and it’s 10:45 at night. It’s absolutely pouring outside (again) and I’ve got to get to my truck that is parked way out in the parking lot. My…
Psalm 47:6-8 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. The book of Revelation begins with an amazing scene- hundreds of millions of people, the redeemed of all creation encircling the throne of God singing “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and…
1 John 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. In the damp spring of 1863 just outside Rome, Georgia, 450 Confederate cavalrymen under Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest were preparing to engage a federal force about three times their size. Forrest and his men had been skirmishing with northern troops led by Colonel Abel D. Streight for several weeks while in the…
Psalm 8:3 & 9 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him… O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Have you ever seen the stars? Now I’m not talking about the few stars you can see from the back deck of your suburban home where the stars compete with street lamps, headlights,…