a future so bright . . .
Psalms 37:35-37: I myself have seen it happen: a proud and evil man, towering like a cedar of Lebanon, but when I looked again, he was gone! I searched but could not find him! But the good man—what a different story! For the good man—the blameless, the upright, the man of peace—he has a wonderful future ahead of him. For him…
relinquish control
When I originally met the little Ugandan boy who eventually became my son, my goal was simply to keep him alive. After he overcame malnutrition and recovered from a long list of diseases, however, my dreams for his life quickly became bigger.
For example, the first time my son—as a mere 5-year-old—petted a horse, I immediately visualized him becoming the…
restoration takes time
Joel 2:25: The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.”
In Genesis chapter one, God is restoring what was previously destroyed by Satan and his fall. Many of us have been taught that…
batting 1.000
Baseball determines a player’s batting average by dividing his total number of hits by the number of times he’s batted. If a player hits the ball every time he bats, he’s batting 1.000 (or one thousand). For as long as baseball has been around, no player has ever batted 1.000. And just as no baseball player has ever achieved batting perfection,…
he's perfect
My son has a mild to moderate form of mental retardation. He suffers from seizures and had major brain surgery when he was 18 months old to “potentially” help control his seizures. I suppose it was due to this surgery that he has severe developmental delays, a lack of social skills, a serious speech delay (he only speaks 3 to…
a trial . . .
Galatians 5:5: But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.
Throughout the Word of God, we're instructed to wait on the salvation of the Lord by faith. The Lord has already done everything in order to see to it that we’re blessed, but sometimes we're required to wait for…
June 13, 2011
What’s the most faith-inspiring thing a friend has ever said to you? Why?
escape
The bold print in a local news story caught my eye: “Increase in suicide rates in Singapore, male suicides double that of female.” The report goes on to say, “According to some psychiatrists, the higher number of suicides among men is not an unusual trend. . . . When it comes to dealing with their problems, men don’t tend to…
why obey?
As I get older and gain seniority at work, the concept of obedience—following the rules—has become less of a priority for me. Obedience is no longer as simple as “just do what is asked”—I want to be convinced first. Hmmm. Does this sound familiar to the way we relate to God at times?
During Ahab’s reign, the city of Jericho…
misunderstood
Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked, “Is it so bad to be misunderstood?” He went on to point out, “Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh.” Apparently, being misunderstood puts us in some pretty good company.
Consider Jesus, the only person to ever…
breaking the stronghold of isolation
John 8:29–30: "The one who sent Me is with Me—He has not deserted Me. For I always do what pleases Him.” Then many who heard Him say these things believed in Him.
When God created us, He said that it wasn't good for us to be alone. Although the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were created in the image…
revealed
My list of projects to accomplish this weekend is somewhere near the level of insanity. As a teacher, I thrive on learning new things and finding innovative ways to communicate ideas to my students. So I have this nasty habit of creating projects for myself. Most times, I live somewhere on the continuum between order and chaos. Unfortunately, life doesn’t…
walking with God
Hebrews 4:8-10: Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.
We demonstrate…
Jesus among the idols
According to anthropologists, worship is found in every culture. Deep within us lies an impulse to offer ourselves to someone or something that will give us meaning, security, and identity.
The Golan Heights, a region between modern-day Israel and Syria, is an area rich in worship history. More than a dozen temples dedicated to the Old Testament fertility god Baal…
jimmy joy
When my friend Jimmy’s cancer returned for the fourth time, he made a choice. Though he knew the path ahead would be difficult (another invasive, painful surgery inside his lung), he strove to bring glory to God. So during his week-long, post-operative stay in the hospital, he greeted the doctors and nurses (and anyone who entered his room) with a…
