It seems to me that the older I get, the wiser I should become. Oh, I know. . . people are screaming that the President is too old to serve. . . the residents around me in the senior living facility where we’ve moved tell the same memorized stories at mealtimes, and three of my friends are in the hospital, the rehab center, or anticipating surgeries. . . lots of opportunities for grace and mercy here.
We took a friend…..
For this sabbath, let us seek restoration. MY PSALM 311 RESTORATION Heavenly Father, Lord of the Universe, Savior of my soul, I come to You this day with thanksgiving For the blessing of Your salvation. I thank You that before the dawn of creation You knew me, You loved me, You called me, Your daughter, to be one of Yours, And that I now know You as Savior, Lord, Master! I pray You will keep the joy of my salvation…..
One of my favorite verses is one that deals with something hard for me to accomplish. That’s why I return to it often. Philippians 4: 6-7 reminds me that Paul, who suffered many distresses in his life and had every reason to be stressed, decided to drill this truth into himself and tries to make sure I understand it too. While I do not face anywhere near the difficulties Paul faced, I tend to return over and over again to…..
We serve a holy God. He is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and righteous. He is not “the guy upstairs” or the beneficent grandpa. The commandment says, You shall love the Lord your God. He is a jealous God. We must not have any other gods before Him. That means we need to keep our priorities straight and not entertain the idols that keep us from worshipping and serving Almighty God. His holiness is our measuring stick.
If we are truly…..
Ev and I took our grandchildren to an exciting presentation on Saturday. The topic was Whales and the presenter, known as the Science Guy here at Glenbrooke Senior Living, is a talented local teacher who loves exploring the living creatures in the world. This week’s topic was Whales, and while I thought I was somewhat knowledgeable, I learned as much from our granddaughters as I did from the presenter. They showed such excitement about the topic, and delighted those around…..
The Bible says Jesus came to take up our burdens and give us rest. It was not a good idea. One of the most beautiful choral pieces for this verse’s setting is in Handel’s Messiah. It is given to the soprano soloist with beautiful string accompaniment. “Come unto Him, all ye who labor. Come unto Him all ye who are heavy laden. And He shall give you rest. Take His yoke upon you and learn of Him. For He is meek…..
Let’s face it. The last evil to be conquered in this mortal life is death. Yes, it stings. Yes, it hurts. Yes, it’s what, indeed, makes us mortal. But, thanks to the resurrection of Jesus and God’s promises, there is more to life than what we know here, with death, tears, sorrow, depression, and lost hopes. Jesus allows us, no gives us the gift, of eternal worship of the Lord who conquered death.
Yes, our saints die. But the Psalms…..
Even Christians get depressed sometimes. When we are weighed down with family issues, troubling finances, newscasts, and don’t know where to turn, I’m here to tell us (me included) that God says He is always near, always hears our pleas in our prayers, and is a citadel against all forces that assail us. From my book, Restore My Soul Psalms, written especially for the season of Lent when we are self-examining our walk with Jesus, I deal with the things that hamper…..
When we think of restoring our souls, whether we’re just tired, not as attentive the the Word as we’d like to be, or bowed down in discouragement because of events occurring around us and to us, discouragement is a fact of life. As we strive for sanctification, the words of everything is find when we walk with Jesus sometimes sound jarring to us if…..
Whether is is the tragedy at Parkland school or the more recent one at a football win celebration, our hearts are tarnished, if not broken, by senseless killing and unrest. The human tragedy is that man is a sinful creature; therefore we live in a fallen world. Yet, those of us who are believers in Jesus know that this world is temporal, therefore temporary, and that while disappointments, whether personal or national, can teach us to number our days and…..