To put it in the words of the great theologian, Commander Duck: “May your Thanksgiving day be happy, happy, HAPPY!” Full of family, fun & snorts (BIG ones!). Full of gobble-gobbled turkey with a touch of stuffing. Full of courage in the face of feisty in-laws. Full of the fresh fragrance of the living God! I just read a testimony in my friend Mike Shreve’s newsletter. While drowning, a Christian man thought of 1 Timothy 2:8 in his last moments: [box] I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.[/box] He thought, “What better …
Beautifully Illogical
When it comes to prayer, we’ve all been struck by hardballs of disappointment. And when we don’t see results, we’re tempted to lower our expectations, hopes, and dreams. After all, what if God doesn’t come through the next time? I’d better protect my heart and accept my circumstances the way they are. Do you hear that whisper? Where does it come from? It comes from the spirit of fear who wants to keep us from believing the God of miracles. God is bigger than our disappointments, fears, and present situations. IF God can do anything, he can surely move …
Help, I’m Dying!
In speaking of Ema McKinley’s amazing modern day miracle, people ask, “Why did God wait eight long hours before appearing to Ema to heal her? For that matter, why did he wait eighteen years?” Who knows… The point is, Jesus showed up and healed her crippled body from head to toe. After hours on the floor, I’m sure she wondered if she might be dying. Then Jesus suddenly showed up and stood over her helpless body, saying, “Ema, give me your hand.” With her hands in his, He raised her to her feet. Rivers of love passed between them. Just …
Losing My Mind
I am sick. I am tired. I am addicted. But God calls Himself the Great I AM. And “I AM” is bigger than our problems. When God told Moses to confront Pharaoh about letting the Israelites go, Moses became nervous and said, “What do I tell them when they ask who sent me?” [box] God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Genesis 3:14[/box] And that’s exactly what Moses did. He held God’s Name up high. Likewise, we can hold the great …
What is the Object of Your Courage?
[box] Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26[/box] What in the world doesn’t take courage? You need courage to get up in the morning. You may even need it to look in the mirror. But what do we really know about courage? When was the last time you told a stranger about Jesus, faced an angry mob, got arrested for your faith? The disciples faced death and persecution daily, but …
Cumulus Glory
Seeing this wild cloud formation yesterday afternoon reminded me how we’re constantly in a battle between light and darkness. Will we say “yes” to the dark sweeping clouds of sin and let them swoop down and threaten our sky, or will we learn to hate what is evil and cling to what is good? A big white cloud of witnesses watches. Our ever-present Savior eagerly waits to help us deal with enemy darkness in its various changing forms. God gives us the gift of choice. So what will we do? [box] Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come …
Don’t Go Green
Has it happened to you lately? The moment your joy meets another person’s envy? The time your happy heart collides with someone’s self-pity? A friend waxes green behind a tight-lipped smile and a reluctant shake of the head… “Must be nice…” She may even toss God into it. “Boy, I sure wish God would do that for me…” Self-pity, self-seeking, comparison-making, false-fronts. Yuck, yuck, double yuck. But who hasn’t tasted the sour-stomaching fruity effects of the flesh? So we ask God for more love! Indeed, our flesh screams in protest when we work to attain something, only to watch it …
He is Here
[box] Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked. “About …
Closer Than You Think
I’m as close as the mention of My name. Not even an inch can separate us. I blanket you with everything in Me and all I want is your love. You don’t have to jump high hoops to reach My approval. I approved you the moment I made you, and I don’t make mistakes. Here’s what I do with mistakes when you slip them in my hand: I turn them into dazzling diamonds—God-glorifying gems in the crown of your tested testimony. The more you see how much I treasure our closeness, the more you’ll treasure Me and rise to the …
Falling Down Safe
Sometimes in the pruning, little homes get toppled. Creature comforts get turned upside down. Fear. Sometimes warm hands reaching out feel cold and foreign. Sometimes they just want to love. Sometimes we need to climb higher. Have a holy huddle. Sometimes we need to see down times as opportunities for more closeness. Sometimes loving touches speak louder than words. Sometimes we’re blessed to make a new friend. We can taste and see the goodness of God. In everything. Everything can be a learning experience… When we’re open and brave… …
The Ugly Wife
When I hear Jacob tell my father how much he loves my sister, my heart sinks. I’m second place because of my sister’s good looks. Passing by, I can’t help but notice the twinkle in their eyes as they hold each other in their gaze. Him, tall and ruddy; her, bright and curvy. I couldn’t possibly feel any more plain or invisible. I almost choke when my father wants me to slip me into Jacob’s tent and marry him secretly. What a horrible trick. Am I that ugly that I need to lower myself like this? I do as he …
However, Whenever
However, Whenever You are My crystal pitcher, pure refreshment, poured out. Depleted, exhausted, spent? Let My Living Water fill your space, richly. Again and again, I satisfy. Making you satisfying to quench. See My sparkling face shining through you, never dulling? You know Me deeper daily, but I know you deeper still. You lived with Me from the beginning, a spirit-seed awaiting place and time. I waited with you before you even knew how to know. I waited to breathe in you and be your love-blood. I waited to get messy for you and raise you …
God’s Got You Covered
Reach God covered our sin-problem even before He spoke creation into existence and reached His perfect fingers into those dark layers of dirt to design us. Son Even before God shaped Adam and Eve, He fashioned our future with His own flesh and blood. He devised a plan involving His perfect Lamb who would rescue us from our dirty selves and every muddy place we’d ever tread. [box] The lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. Revelation 13:8[/box] Story The most powerful stories involve death, whether it’s the death of a person, the death of a reputation, …
Raging Seas
Shaken Heart Waves ride high, licking the sides of your boat, toppling inside. Water deepens, clawing tightness in your chest. Jesus had snatched this boat at the end of a long, crowd-saturated day, so he could reach the other side of the sea. With Jesus asleep now, you feel abandoned. Must you and your friends battle this storm by yourselves? In a howling gust, your boat couldn’t be more tossed and you know you’re going to drown. What in the world? Shouldn’t Jesus at least see this mess he threw you into? Winds roar so loud you can hardly hear …
U.S. Son on Malaysia Flight
News Video: Grieving US Mother Clings To God Grievous disappearance How does a mother respond when crisis strikes? Sondra Wood had just seen her son, Philip, the week before he disappeared on the Malaysian aircraft, flight 370. Philip had visited her Texas home and shared about his IBM job-move from Beijing to Malaysia. “He was excited about his new adventure,” says the devastated mother. “Only people who know God can survive things like this in a good way. I know in my heart I will get through this.” As a Christian, Sondra knows God doesn’t spare us from trouble. He does, however, …
Love to the Brim
In Home with a Heart, James Dobson tells a story of a mother who got the flu. The woman’s little girl, in an effort to play nurse, fluffed mom’s pillows, brought her a magazine, and surprised her with a cup of tea. “I didn’t know you knew how to make tea,” said the mother, taking a sip. “Oh, yes,” said the little girl, sweetly. “I learned by watching you. I put the tea leaves in the pan. Then I put in the water, and I boiled it. Then I strained it into a cup. But I couldn’t find a strainer, …
Are You A Morning Person?
I don’t know how you start your day, but on freezing Minnesota mornings, I yank up the bed sheets and relish each minute before my feet hit the floor. My husband groans, stretches, and wedges an arm beneath me. I ignore the drool on his cheek. He’ll figure it out in a second. It strikes me that we’ve only experienced eighteen and a half years of such marital bliss. LOL! Good morning, Lord… And so begins a chorus of prayer I don’t ever want to stop (and not just so I could stay in bed.) Lord, draw Billy and …
Peace of My Mind
Like all couples, my husband and I disagree on various issues, but God in his goodness has been coaching us about keeping the peace, no matter what we believe. Peace is the oil in my day. When I feel it, it makes me a whole less squeaky. Peace Depends on Me Even if someone acts like a doofus, I can always choose inner peace, while at the same time praying and seeking outer peace with that other individual as well. [box] If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18 [/box] …
Press On Strong
As many of you know, I’m working on a new book that will release with Zondervan next year: Jesus in my Room At least that’s what it’s called for now. We’ll see if they change it or not. Have you ever worked on something where you continually feel that streeeetch of the soul? Then you know how I feel. Sometimes I wish I could order a little more trust and patience. Maybe press the “buy with one click” button on Amazon. Here’s me talking to myself again: [box] Did God call you to do this? Yes. Absolutely. Well, if he …
Secret Treasures
[box] Lord, so many pursuits are steeped in self-interest and sin, but You teach and model the power and glory of humility’s story. Rather than fluffing our feathers, You want us to dive into Your secret place where highest treasures wait. Where food is the pleasure of being like You. So here we go… shredding our gritty bits of self to plunge and truly freely find… we’re less attached to everything but You. [/box] [box] “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in …