I love the placement of the word “but” in the context of this verse. The preceding two verses call the one who trusts in man cursed. Not so for the one who trusts in God! The prophet ends on a high note. I’ve seen this careful arrangement of phrases before in Scripture, and it’s a…
A few friends and I hosted a baby shower for my daughter, Sarah, on Saturday. She’s carrying my first grandchild, and I can hardly wait to welcome that precious little one in about 13 weeks. Sarah set a small, round table on the porch near the food buffet with candles, flowers and a Bible open…
Picture a huge outdoor amphitheater like the ones at Disney’s MGM theme park or Universal Studios, and you’ll be able to imagine the scene of an unsettling dream I had. Filled with several thousand spectators, the stadium seating formed an enormous arc around the stage. I sat in a row way up near the back,…
As I sat down to choose a memory verse to post today on Memorial Day, I couldn’t help but think of this one from Romans. In context, it applies to the great love God showed for us by sending Christ to die for us. According to this verse, most people would not be willing to…
Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday, the seventh Sunday after Easter. It’s the day set aside to commemorate the supernatural event described in the second chapter of Acts, when the Holy Spirit came upon believers just as Jesus had promised. I served on the prayer team at a community-wide gathering hosted by my local church last night.…
I’ll keep today’s post almost as short as our memory verse, which isn’t even a whole verse. I encourage you to read Matthew 6:5-14 to see it in context. (The entire passage is a direct quote from Jesus.) Perhaps then you’ll know why I decided to keep this brief. Easy to memorize and well worth…
As I considered what to post for today’s memory verse, I remembered how many times over the past week I found myself whispering the first verse of Psalm 34, and how grateful I felt to have memorized it. Hour by hour and day by day, circumstances lifted and then dropped me like so many rollercoaster…
The prospect of hearing God’s voice has always fascinated my husband, Steve. He believed it could happen. But well into our marriage it had not happened to him. At least not in a way he could recognize and understand. For God does speak—now one way, now another—though man may not perceive it. — Job 33:14…
Of all the invitations I’ve received to sing at a funeral, only one was extended with an embarrassed apology. The grieving son had promised his mother he would execute the ceremony according to her wishes. A man of his word, he felt more than a little awkward after she gave him the song list. The…
My daughter, Sarah, and I frequented the library when she was a little girl. We both loved to read and enjoyed hunting for good books. One day, she borrowed a Nancy Drew mystery and started reading it as soon as we got home. The next day, it vanished. We searched in all the usual places…
