Tag: God

We are seen

“And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” Luke 7:13-14

This is such a cool story. I love the way it is told. But there is something missing….

Jesus is approaching the village of Nain, and a funeral procession is coming out of the city. He sees the dead man’s mom weeping, and he has compassion on her….asks her not to cry. Everybody stops. Jesus touches the bier, and brings her son back to life.

What’s missing?  Continue reading “We are seen” →

In or out?

 “But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there; then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die.” Jeremiah 42:13-16

When challenges flow strongly into the day, are you “in,” or “out?” Too often, I’m out. Continue reading “In or out?” →

Get carried away

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.” Psalm 91:14 

The Hebrew language is as high and as wide, as deep and as long, as it is old. That is to our advantage. Many of its words and their varied uses are rich portraits of shade and nuance into which we can gaze wonderingly and get drenched well with meaning. To read it is to walk in a story that unfolds on a pathway of color and ideas that beckons one to join in and explore. It calls one to become an active participant in understanding. It is alive. Continue reading “Get carried away” →

At home in God

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” Psalm 90:1

Moses wrote this psalm, we believe, soon after the Israelites had been delivered from slavery in Egypt but near the time they began to grumble about being led into a barren and bleak desert. “What are we going to eat or drink?” “Where are we going?” “How long until we get there?” “What will happen along the way?” “What will happen when we get there?” “By the way, where is ‘there?'” Even though they were now free, they were alone and completely dependent on God for daily living.

Where were they? Right where God wanted them: in a dependent relationship with Him. They didn’t know then,  but they were “home.”

How do we know when we are, “home?”  Continue reading “At home in God” →

Newsflash

“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'” Luke 2:10

When I was a boy, I had an image in my mind of God that was built around the ideas of his power and his greatness. He was a distant person who was busy tending the mechanics of the universe or the trajectory of nations. He was big.  I was small. He was loving, but in a miffed kind of way, because we, as people, had really screwed up his plans for the perfect and beautiful world that took him six whole days to build. If anything, he was reluctant with his attention: when I would seek his help, I was an interruption. He wasn’t smiling.  Continue reading “Newsflash” →

Free indeed

“So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.” 2 Kings 25:29-30

Jehoiachin was one of the many kings of Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar had taken him, his family, and his nation captive in 567 AD. But about 38 years later, Nebuchadezzar’s son and successor, Evil-merodach, freed Jehoiachin from prison, and a daily provision was made for him by the king for the rest of his life. He was 64 years old.

And he was now “free.” Continue reading “Free indeed” →

Resting is trusting

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.” Leviticus 23:3

Growing up surrounded by the dense woods and rolling cornfields of Knox County, Illinois, I learned to rest on the seventh day of our family’s week, Sunday.

The morning on this day, of course, was always all about going to church. This meant shining shoes the night before, baths, and ironing clean shirts. We were getting ready for the next day where, after the drive into town, my brothers and I would pour through the crowded church hallways of friends and neighbors to sit in not-so solemn rooms. If we were in the right spot, the sunlight would spill through the stained glass windows and burn into our necks to remind us of what we were missing outside. It was an intense start to the day.

But after church, we rested. Continue reading “Resting is trusting” →

He drew near

“While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” Luke 24: 15-16

This is a small part in a great story about two of Jesus’ followers walking together on the road that leads to the village of Emmaus, near Jerusalem in about 30 AD. They have lost their leader and good friend who has been brutally beaten and murdered by the Roman Empire. And, that very morning, they have heard stories that His body is now missing and that He has returned to life. They are lost and absorbed in questions and real doubts. They are so involved with their own thinking and conversation that they don’t realize another One has begun to walk with them on the road.  They don’t recognize him, either. Mystery. Continue reading “He drew near” →