Devotional (Page 2)

Psalm 137:2 On the willows there we hung up our lyres. Imagine being a young adult, witnessing atrocities of a waring nation decimating your family, being led away from your homeland in chains, arriving in a foreign country as a slave, and being required to sing. But you’re not being asked to sing any old song but songs of deliverance and hope, so your captors could make fun of you. Sounds like a hopeless picture. In fact, if there were…

As we enter into Thanksgiving week, I have been reflecting how little “thanks” there seems to be in Thanksgiving.  Looking at my own life I realize that in many ways it has become the gateway between fall and Christmas.  I must confess that I hung our Christmas lights in October (won’t turn them on until Thanksgiving) and made an appointment to cut down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.  Kathy has already taken down her fall decorations in anticipation…

As we are approaching this advent season it is always a great time to take a moment to reflect on what we want to get out of advent. I know we each have traditions within our families that make the holidays so special, and Christmas never disappoints within our family. Growing up, Christmas was always a time that we spent with not only our immediate family, but our extended family as well.  Driving through the night in weather that we…

Turn your ear toward wisdom and stretch your mind toward understanding. Call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding. Seek it like silver; search for it like hidden treasure. Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:2-5)   A Bible podcast I listened to recently has led me to reflect on the nature of God’s wisdom. Wisdom is challenging to define. One dictionary defines wisdom as “the quality of having…

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18 (ESV)   Have you noticed how prevalent fear is in our culture? We don’t always call it fear, we offer different names for it—anxiety, panic, apprehension, dread, terror, these either elevate or minimalize the presence of fear but in the end it’s all fear and fear grips all of us. So how does love allay fear? First, it’s important to put the love we’re talking…

This next week is one that will be full of division and hate across the nation. In Romans 15, Paul reminds us of a higher calling: to bear with one another and seek the good of our neighbors. This call to unity is not about suppressing our beliefs but about prioritizing love and understanding over division. He encourages us to bear with one another, recognizing that we all are different but that our goal is being unified by the work of…

To be honest, I have struggled to write what I feel God has placed on my heart.  Recently I have been reminded of the evil that is so prevalent in our culture. God is a God of Justice, and these things must break His heart. Certainly, God is grieved with the killing of innocent life. God is grieved when care is not given to the widow, the orphan, and the “least of these”. Certainly, God is grieved when Christians are…

I was watching this silly turkey from the deck of the parsonage.  He was at the back of the church inside a fenced area and he couldn’t figure out how to get out.  He started pacing back and forth for like 30 minutes.  The rest of the group of turkeys went about their business looking for something to eat.   Back and forth this turkey went.   Finally, turkey #2 flew in to talk to turkey #1 and tell him how to…

One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at the table at Jesus side… John 13:23 John, the son of Zebedee, a fisherman by trade, was called by Jesus to be one of his followers. This man was given the unique opportunity to be one of three who were given premier access to Jesus—part of his inner circle. He was also the longest living of Jesus’ disciples. He wrote a large portion of the New Testament, eclipsed only by…

I first felt a definitive call to ministry when I was on a Work and Witness trip to Kenya at the age of 16. I was so excited to share this call with the other people on the trip, as well as the Kenyan pastors we have gotten to know well over the years. They all affirmed my call and told me I would do great things for the Lord. When we came home, I shared the news of my…

I grew up in the Presbyterian Church.  I can recall as a young boy being scared that if I didn’t pray each night for the forgiveness of my sins, I might go to hell.  What if I failed to confess all my sins?  What if I had sinned and didn’t know it?  What if I sinned and died in a car accident?  I lived in constant fear of going to hell if I failed to constantly ask God for forgiveness…

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13-14) The past two months have been filled with nostalgia.  In early August my son and I flew to San Diego to watch a couple of baseball games.  While we were there, I showed…