Posted on July 8, 2010 at 6:33am.
When I was in college I went on several long distance bike trips, riding 10 speed bikes. I remember being in the mountains of Vermont and regularly announcing to the group I was with - “I think the top is just around the next bend.” Much to my disappointment and the frustration of my group, the road still went up and we had to climb more. We would come to another bend and I would hear “Don’t say it Kallam!” Eventually we did make the top and the road either leveled out or started back down.
Those memories feel a lot like what folks are experiencing these days. Life is hard and uncertain - with no end in sight. What do you say to the person who can’t find work? To the one whose life is like climbing a mountain with no end in sight. I know the truth of what I believe, God will never leave or forsake but man can that ever sound trite. So here is my prayer - “Lord to those who can’t see beyond the bend or feel like giving up please encourage them today.”
Posted on July 7, 2010 at 7:12am.
Some thoughts on wisdom from Job -
“There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness…
But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?”
Wisdom is a scarce commodity. As valuable as gold, silver and other minerals are, they are in abundant supply compared to wisdom. I don’t know many wise individuals. As Job goes on to say the problem is we usually are looking in the wrong direction. It is the “fear of the Lord - that is wisdom.” To look and to move toward God as my source for living life wisely. Why not take a look, a long look.
Posted on July 4, 2010 at 6:30am.
For those of us here in the USA it is a special day today - Independence Day. Happy Fourth of July. A lasting picture of the freedom that was fought for over 234 years ago. It is a freedom that many in the history of our nation have had to fight for and have given their lives to maintain. As Christ followers we celebrate a freedom that is ours as well only we don’t wait to just once a year to remember it. We also don’t have to fight to maintain it rather it was forever secured by the price Christ paid on the cross. Now that is a freedom worth celebrating.
Posted on July 3, 2010 at 6:23am.
“but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” Those are Paul’s words to his son in the faith Timothy - set an example. The example covers both what we say and how we live. It is seen on the outside but has roots in our hearts. It is a reminder for all of us that we will be an example, the question is - what kind?
Posted on July 2, 2010 at 7:25am.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus said these things to the disciples in the hours before he went to the cross. Peace is an amazing concept that continues to elude the world. We seek it, long for it and find it slipping through our fingers. Conflict, fighting and war are in much greater abundance. When looking for peace we need only to look to Jesus, who gives us a peace that goes beyond the circumstances of our lives.
