Psalm 22:2 - O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. Continue reading

And Other Pretty Shiny Things Spiritual Disciplines for Highly Distracted Souls - That is my next book ... well, one of the next ones --- if I can concentrate enough to finish it . Seriously now, some of you know exactly what I mean. And you are the folks who are my kin in this particular skin. We struggle to focus, but we must focus to struggle. We know the deep value of grace in our lives be because we guzzle it like cool water on a scorching day in the sun. It is cooling balm to our blistered flesh.... Continue reading

Two Messages for Today One More Continue reading

Trois myopic rodents Trois myopic rodents Observe how they traverse Observe how they traverse They all pursued the agronomist's spouse Who severed their appendages with a culinary implement Have you ever observed such a startling phenomenon As trois myopic rodents Lest you stop there, note that many of the nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and fable are encrypted and politically charged messages understood best in context. For instance, the "three blind mice" were said to be Protestant loyalists who, in 1555 were accused of a plot against Queen Mary I. They were who were burned at the stake for their "blindness,"... Continue reading

I know many unhappy people, soured of soul through their taste of failure and disappointment, derailed by disasters in their lives, detained by their fears, and distracted by anything and everything but the one thing they must do to succeed. God grant you success by planting the vision of real success in you and empowering you to become the person you were made to be. Then, you can do what you were fashioned to do. Ultimate success would be finding your purpose and pursuing it. It is more about being and becoming than achieving and accumulating. When I pray for... Continue reading

All days end and new days begin. Some are more personally significant for us than others. There is always a next day. Here was a very productive day when some common words rang so true as to resound in our hearts through time and into eternity. One says, "We have found him" and is met with honest doubt and objection. "Nothing good comes from THAT town!" Jesus compliments him for "being real," and calls him anyway. In the transaction we enshrine these words of calling, "Follow me," and "Come and see," and "I saw you," and "You shall see amazing... Continue reading

We are living in chronos time, but we have kairos moments. Continue reading

That being said, wisdom is sometimes a rather random thing. So, i have chosen to be random today and upload some downloads for you in hopes that you might find something useful. Even if it is not useful, perhaps you can make it so. Continue reading

I think that people, who may not have regard for the Bible as scripture or believe in divine direction, may often practice the principle of Proverbs 3:5 without knowing that they are obeying the scripture, "Lean not on thine own understanding." Every intelligent person I know bows in the presence of the unknowns of the universe. There is a common sense of awe at the wonder of the cosmos and the paradoxical nature of truth. We tune our harps to what we know and set our compasses by given understanding of the polar realities and magnetic forces that govern us.... Continue reading

Two arguments for prayer directed to God for people in power are given by Paul. It is not an exhaustive list, but it is a good summary of two categories, the good prayer does us and the kingdom value for aligning with God's purposes: Our Benefit "... that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity..." God's Benefit " ... who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth..." So, it benefits us to pray so that our lives can be more stable ad it benefits God's purposes so... Continue reading

Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash Just a Word of Encouragement How is it that a small word or two of encouragement can make all the difference in a person's day? One compliment can turn the tide for another person's day or week. One blessing softly and sincerely spoken can lift a downtrodden spirit. A brief prayer can evoke the release of a flood tide of emotion cleansing the soul of a broken life. One "You can do it" can be heard and acted upon to catalyze change in an entire community or world. One hand placed gently and firmly... Continue reading

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Prayer gathers our scattered thoughts and hidden anxieties. Prayer gives voice to the voiceless within us. Prayer centers us in God prayer opens the door for the possibilities we may not readily see. Prayer is God's invitation to participate in what He is doing.. None of us are really ""good at it," but the good news is that we do not have to be. We just need to enter in and meet God. Continue reading

Truth shouts in our ears and lives out before us the radical notion that sometimes it is enough, and more than enough, to stand and bear witness. Continue reading

Is your faith alive and transforming? Is it making a difference in your life, in your community? Is it making you kinder, gentler, more likely to engage with the broken, and more likely to heal the hurt of the world? Isaiah 58:1-12 (NRSV) Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;... Continue reading

Adonai, above all powers, above all rulers, above all my thoughts and hopes and dreams, LORD of my frailties and Dreamer of my dreams, Giver of life, Author of hope, First Cause, Final Conclusion, Ultimate Concern, Lover of humanity, Creator of all that is, Mighty God, Everlasting Father ... my Abba ... To Thee, I come and with Thee, I stand. In Thee, I rest. Through Thee, I live. You are, יהוה , the Great I AM. I hesitate to speak Thy Name lest I speak it for naught and yet ... You invite me, to call Thee, Abba, Father,... Continue reading

This morning's message was to encourage those who are in the arena for the superbowl of life, to keep patient and waiting on the LORD, to rise up with the wings of eagles, to run without becoming weary, to walk without fainting! Scriptures from NRSV Isaiah 40:21-31 40:21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 40:22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a... Continue reading

"You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you." The horns of the wicked and the horns of the righteous are made of the same sort of stuff, but express different approaches to what they represent, honor and power. The righteous seldom strut their stuff. The wicked seldom cease. One shall come to naught and the other shall be exalted. The powers of this age and the ruthlessness of power-grabbing, power-wielding personages and entities shall ultimately fail. Those who seek truth and justice at each junction of choice and each crossroads of intent, regardless of the assessment of... Continue reading

1. You can't rest on the laurels of your first half of life. 2. You can't get discouraged by a slow start. 3. Keep playing till the end, even into overtime because: YOU ARE ALWAYS IN OVERTIME. 4. Your second half may be better than the first. 5. You may run out of time-outs. Adjust. 6. Expect turn-overs and play them. 7. It's not over until Lady Gaga sings - and then it's only half over. 8. Spectators, commentators, and wagerers have no effect on the outcome of the game. It is up to the players to play it. 9.... Continue reading

If you believe ... Continue reading

"I believe; help my unbelief!" (See the text in Mark 9:14-29) Here is the key to the lesson Jesus is teaching His disciples when they asked why they could not help the man and his boy. After all, they believed and Jesus had said that all things were possible to those who believed. But the man did more than just believe. He believed and prayed. Jesus said that deliverance from the oppressing demon that tormented the boy required prayer. Some manuscripts include, “and fasting.” Prayer requires belief, but in this case, belief is verified and amplified through prayer. After all,... Continue reading

We are thirsting for something and may not know what it is. We think we know. We think it might be a righteousness that we can produce with a little more effort. It might be a holiness that requires that we say just the right words and do just the right things. We might imagine it to be a secret recipe for ecstasy or a prescription for pleasure. Could it be some mystery that we can discover by squinting our eyes more strenuously or reciting deeper and more profound incantations? Or could we do some sort of harm to ourselves... Continue reading

I am awake. What a delightful surprise, A twist of events that I embrace. I would say shocking, but that would mean a stopping. It is a stirring. I greet this morning with wonder and anticipation. For those who wondered, I am well. For those who assumed it was so, it is. For those who gave it no thought ... Why should you have? To you, I smile and say, "Good morning." It is, you know. It is a very good morning. We do expect to wake up, after all and We expect all around us to do so with... Continue reading

Not FIENDS, now that I have your attention, but FRIENDS. The polarization of our times and positions has widened the gap between us in this country to the place where we are finding it increasingly difficult to discern the logic and good intentions of our intellectual and ideological adversaries. We do not even want to talk to each other sometimes. Some views offend us so deeply that understanding them and attributing goodwill to those who espouse them seems to be a betrayal of all we believe and, even a betrayal of God Himself, assuming we believe in God. These are... Continue reading