What Happens Today

The Vastness of God You can't really experience the beauty of something until you are in it. A picture may speak a thousand words but it doesn't blow your hair, tingle your sense of smell, or cause your eyes to squint. This picture of Wachusett reservoir in Massachusetts may bring up feelings of bitter cold, but unless you've been there in the cold snow like I was this morning, your face isn't any colder and you didn't just start seeing your breath.  After seeing the immensity of this reservoir, I can't help but say to God, how vast you are. Spending time on the edge of this great body of water gives me a taste of the greatness of God. I might even go as far as to say, I'm experiencing him, who he is, at least in part.  We can read the bible, understand its words, comprehend its meaning. And that is a doorway, an entrance into knowing him. We read, God loves you. But have we experienced his love? Have we known his comfort in times of trial? Scripture t...

Probably one of the greatest gifts that God has given us is the ability to appreciate.  He not only gives us beauty, he also gives us the ability to admire that beauty. What a good God. Gratitude is a gift as well; to be able to see the value in something while setting aside the obvious negative. Gratitude is an awareness of beauty expressing itself through a smile, a word of simple thanks, or lifted hands. Gratitude runs in short supply these days. But it doesn't have to; for we have a choice. Being grateful is a choice. Consider this, God provides food for our bodies; sustenance that is necessary to our survival. And yet, because he is good and kind, he causes food to be enjoyable. Could you imagine having to painfully devour a juicy steak with a side of fries? Think of the misery of life if each meal required bite after sorrowful bite to supply our bodies with necessary daily fuel. Food is not a practical necessity, it is a joyous part of life. Grateful?  Consider t...

When I was younger, I dreamed of being a superhero, being able to run at super fast speeds and fly over fields. I think many of us are intrigued by the thought of being able to cast aside the laws of nature. The thought of being untouchable, unconquerable, is appealing. Some of our most popular TV shows and movies portray men and women who can fight off and survive almost any sort of attack. Have you been run through and thrown off a cliff? Not a problem. There is a way back. Lost someone you love? Solve that by running back in time and changing the past. Our  heroes seem almost immortal, god-like. And some of them are gods. But almost inevitably, they all have their flaws, their weaknesses, their kryptonite. And many have a dark side, a moral flaw. We desire superhero status, but understand that we are all weak. I believe this superhero status is something that is set in our hearts. Call it immortality, the desire to be untouchable. Most would embrace the thought that there...

But the one who boasts should boast in this: that he understands and knows me — that I am the Lord, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things. This is the Lord’s declaration. ‭‭ Jeremiah‬ ‭9:24‬  ‭ Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world. ‭‭ James‬ ‭1:27‬  Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:9-10‬ Your name be honored as holy. We honor His name as holy when we walk in a manner that reflects who he is. If we bear the name of Christ, then our lives must bear his ways and our living his character. How else can his kingdom come and his will be done? We are views, portals into the eternal, into his kingdom. We must live in a way that displays his faithful love, justice, and righ...

When They Leave My wife and go to my eye appointments together. That's what we do. We've always done things together. I think we actually enjoy spending time together. So, we go to my eye appointment together in Boston and then head to Charles street after that to catch a good Italian dinner. Call it a medical date night. Is this what people start to do at our age? Is this getting older? Well, it's not as painful as I thought it would be when I was a younger man. As we were checking out of the doctor's office in Boston, bantering between ourselves and the receptionist, the receptionist made a comment that made me think for a few days. In fact, it made me think enough to take the time to write this blog about it. She said, You guys seem like you have a good time together. That's not something you can fake. Miserable couples, or couples going through it, can't give the impression that they have fun together.  My wife and I have children. They've been a j...

Sometimes we forget.  We develop an amnesia of the spirit - who God has been in our lives; what he has said, what he has done. And when we forget, we make poor decisions - foolish choices. We take paths that lead us to soul ache. Amnesia is the loss of memory, the forgetting of facts, information, and experiences. One symptom of amnesia is memory loss, but it can also make it difficult to learn new information. There are many things that can cause the damage that causes amnesia such as stroke, disease, and the one often portrayed in movies - blunt force head injury. But amnesia can also be caused by shock or trauma. This is called "dissociative amnesia" and can cause a loss of self identity. You forget who you are. Blows to the head.  Shock and trauma.  Life can come at us like this.  Maybe you've felt the blow of the loss of a loved one, a job, or a relationship. Maybe you've experienced the criticisms and judgments of a church. What about disappoi...

Sometimes God asks us to do something that doesn't make sense. Like praying for our enemies or praying for those that have hurt us. His ways are far above our ways. But to our natural minds, praying for God to help someone who has hurt us or those we love can challenge the very core of our thinking. Our enemies can be our literal enemies; or we can find ourselves at odds with those we call brother, sister, or family. Praying for those close to us who have hurt us can pose an even greater challenge than praying for the enemy we barely know.  God will dispense justice. That is his right, his job so to speak; not ours. And so God calls us to a higher place, to pray for our offenders, to pray for those who do wrong. But what do we pray. Dare we lift up our enemies and ask God to strengthen them? Do we go so far as to ask the Lord of righteousness and justice to refresh the spirit of the one who has hurt us? Do we call down encouragement from heaven on the one who has hurt our hea...