What Happens Today

Old Hymn, New Song I've had an old hymn on my heart lately. It's a beautiful song written by C. Austin Miles, penned in the early 1900's. The lyrics for the chorus of the song go like this, And He walks with me and He talks with me And He tells me I am His own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known You may recognize this song titled,  In the Garden. The words were written in a damp cellar (not in a garden) after C. Austin Miles had had a vision of Mary visiting the tomb of Jesus after his death. The melody and the verses are just as powerful as the chorus.  I'm sure many could tell of what this song means to them and how it has impacted their lives. What jumps out to me, though, are the words, And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known . None other has ever known . At first, the line of the song seems untrue. Many have known depth of relationship with Jesus, haven't they? Isn't this something that we, ...

the end of the line Some of us are naturally stronger than others. There are those who can accomplish great things because of their strong charisma or keen business sense; the Bill Gates and Donald Trumps of the world. Their elite training, personality makeup, and drive bring them to places that many of us do not go. Their natural boundaries and limitations seem to go beyond the horizon; beyond what we can see. Then there are those of us whose boundaries are not so elusive. They seem to be in front of us at all times, mocking our weakness and deflating our self-esteem. The weak hit their natural limitations sooner, sometimes much sooner, than the strong. But whether your boundary is seemingly limitless, or whether it is easily in view, God has given each of us the opportunity to cross from our strength into His strength; from the natural to the super natural. At some point in our lives all of us reach the end of the line, where the train called  my ability can go no further...

His Selection "... we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world ..." We can choose to rejoice in the day, even if it's a rough day. We have the choice to stand in one of two places. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but God works all things together for our good. I'm going to choose the God working all things together for your good. What about you? What will you choose? Loss or gain? As His child, both options are open to you; they really are. This life is not a series of random events as Darwinism would have us believe. Natural selection is replaced by spiritual selection; you are a chosen child of God, selected and adopted. He walked into the orphanage, saw you, and said, "I want this child, I choose (your name here)." We are chosen. We are not at the mercy of the cosmos, we are in the hands of a sovereign God; a loving, all-powerful, sovereign God.  Family time can...

This is My Ugly Pour out your heart to him - psalm 62:8 Empty it completely. Leave nothing behind. Not one drop of bad attitude, not one secret sin, not a single dream or feeling of accomplishment. God wants it all, not for His sake, but for yours. You see, you can be honest with God. That hidden sin that nobody knows about? He sees it. The attitude you have towards your children, boss, or pastor? God hears it as if you were yelling it out at the top of your lungs. God knows it all, and he wants you to know He knows it all. Exposing our hearts has never been easy. Opening up can be scary. Who likes to be rejected? Our past hurts and rejections has helped to pay the salary of many a psychologist. But as any good counselor will tell you, holding it in, bottling it up, is a sure recipe for impending explosion. So pour it out; pour it out before God. The psalm I quoted at the opening actually begins with the words, "Trust in Him at all times, O people." One of the great...

the pain of removing a sliver Nothing struck horror in the heart of my children more than their mother approaching them with a glistening silver needle between her fingers to remove a sliver from their finger. I know what they were probably thinking, (actually, what I thought as a child), "Leave it, it will grow out eventually. It's really not that painful." The thought of the process of removing the sliver brought more pain than the sliver itself. But, as parents, we knew the sliver needed to be removed to avoid the risk of infection and to remove the pain our children would feel every time something touched the area of their wound. Some things are just necessary, no matter how painful; necessary for us to function normally, necessary for us to be at our optimum us. The pain of rejection can be agonizing. The pain of rejection by someone in authority can be even more agonizing.  It is a sliver in our hearts.   It's one thing to be cast aside by a peer , but qu...

Does God Speak? I like Start Trek, Voyager. I watch it at lunch time. Please don't think less of me for that. The episode I was watching today hit a chord in my heart. A group of humanoids were trapped in stasis, kept alive by a computer simulation that played a virtual reality in their minds through an advanced technology. Without these people noticing it, their deep seated fears gradually surfaced and became part of the simulation. Soon, their fear became so strong that it took the form of a clown and took over the simulation, ruling their minds mercilessly. They were trapped by their fears personified. Does God hear us when we pray? Does He speak to us? Well, He spoke to me through that episode of Star Trek; through a TV show some would call silly. Amazing what God can use to speak to us. I know one young lady who would agree with me. God can and does speak to us.  My daughter Heidi had some difficult decisions to make. Life course changes. Which option should she take...

Anchor What anchors your soul? The question can be asked another way, what holds your hope? There's no shortage of promises out there that call to us, attempting to invoke the spark of optimism in our searching hearts. TV commercials are filled with products that claim to have the ability to fill, to satisfy, to meet our demanding expectations. I think most of us understand, though, that a type of deodorant will not really make the ladies swoon at our feet. I think most of us hope for something deeper and greater than the illusionary results gum, a car, or a vacation promise to offer. Gum loses its flavor, cars need repairs, and vacations end. So, if our hope is not in what we buy, what do we put our hope in? Good lives for our children? Will that satisfy; if we see our children educated, healthy, and safe? Maybe. That's a good thing to realize; but it is not guaranteed. Many have faced the distress of watching a wayward child sink into pain and suffering.  How abou...