The Roof Over Our Heads

Spiritually speaking, the “roof over our heads” is the great long shield (of faith) which if held over the head by the soldier in ancient warfare would deflect and extinguish the fiery darts and flaming missiles and raining arrows of the adversary. Oh, yes, we are doubly blessed and fortified to have the security and … Continue reading →

Put in Her Place

Jesus came along and really “put women in their place.” That is, he took her from the muck and mire to which she had been subjected and to which she had subjected herself and exalted her to such a high place the likes of which she had never before seen. He put her on the … Continue reading →

The Thorn That Became a Feather

With much help, admittedly, one very elusive goal went finally and giddily one day from being a thorn buried in my side to a feather waving in my cap. Shall we celebrate the feather for a day then and be done with it? Wait a minute! Shall I forget about it now and let it … Continue reading →

Thanks in Real Life

I thank you in real life for the coffee you gave me in a dream. Thanksgiving is not a day of life so much as a way of life. Continue reading →

Cornered

Evil has been cornered like a wild beast on this little ball we call earth. And, like a wild animal that has been cornered, it lashes out in desperation, it shows its claws and its fangs, it hisses, it becomes more and more vicious as it fights for its very life. We call the greatest … Continue reading →

Fresh Evidence

Every day and every season in our lives brings forth fresh evidence of God’s faithfulness toward us.  Like following the scent and recent tracks of a creature in the wild, though this happens to be the untamed Creator in the wild Who created the wild in the first place leads us finally into pleasant places if … Continue reading →

Sorrow in Childbearing

The consequence from the fall of the woman’s pain in childbearing actually turned out for the salvation of humanity.  Mary certainly experienced physical pain in the birth of Jesus Christ, but he turned out to be her Savior and the Savior of many others, and will so turn out to be that for many more in … Continue reading →

Dialogue or Monologue: Dialogic Prayer

It’s so easy for our practice of  dialoguing with God to lapse into our own monologues to God.  In fact that is the tendency of things if left to themselves, unless we deliberately and with intentionality counteract that tendency through the renewed discipline of listening to God’s still small voice.  The first part of our prayer time to … Continue reading →

Take up and Follow

Jesus instructs us to take up our crosses and to follow Him. (Matthew 16, v24). Note that he doesn’t instruct us only to take up our crosses, but he goes on to say that we are to follow Him.  He doesn’t want us dwelling on the crosses, He wants us bearing them willingly but yet … Continue reading →

Counterintuitive

Why is it that the first time in the gospels that Jesus talks about love or prayer it is in regard to one’s enemies or those who mistreat us? (Matthew 5, v.43-48)  We would be inclined to begin our attempts at love with our family and friends or with those who treat us well and are … Continue reading →