God Says, “Wake Up!”
Good morning... Millions of people around the world turned out for hundreds of simultaneous gatherings on Saturday. More than one million people joined marches in the United States, including hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C., for the Women’s March on Washington. “Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy,” President Trump tweeted. “Even if I don’t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.” I sense that the main motivation [...]
God Is Fitting Stone To Stone
Good morning... "The silence of God is the greatest test of our faith," says German theologian Helmut Thielicke. Yet, he continues, "The silence of God and Jesus is not of indifference. It is the silence of higher thoughts. God is fitting stone to stone in His plan for the world and our lives, even though we can see only a confused and meaningless jumble of stones heaped together under a silent heaven." Though our [...]
God Is Fitting Stone to Stone
"The silence of God is the greatest test of our faith," says German theologian Helmut Thielicke. Yet, he continues, "The silence of God and Jesus is not of indifference. It is the silence of higher thoughts. God is fitting stone to stone in His plan for the world and our lives, even though we can see only a confused and meaningless jumble of stones heaped together under a silent heaven." Though our eyes "can [...]
You. Me. Trump. An Equal Opportunity
Good morning… After hosting in my home our Friday Bible study, I turned on my TV to watch the inauguration coverage. I caught the end of President Trump's speech, followed by words from a rabbi and two ministers. In the thirty minutes of air time I witnessed, God's name was spoken repeatedly. Then my mind drifted to this thought, "What would Jesus say if he stepped onto this stage, leaned into this microphone, and [...]
A Historic Inauguration
Good morning... In 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, the Bible records a historic inauguration. Remember with me that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, offering chiseled-in-stone rules-to-live-by for the followers of the one true God (Exodus 20). Upon those commandments, the people of Israel founded their nation, creating their laws and forming their government. Yet over time the power of that government faded, leaving people condemned to death in their inescapable sin. [...]
Trusting God At Work
Good morning... "I trust that God is at work in me. More and more, I feel His presence. Day by day, I sense God changing me, softening my heart." She continued, "But trusting that God is also at work in other people, that's my biggest challenge." By nature, we want to save and to fix, to make peace and to control. It is hard for us to "stay 100 feet back" from our loved [...]
God Speaks Through Truck Signs
Good morning... Sometimes we live too up-close to people. We hang on the bumper of our loved ones, directing. We hang on the bumper of our enemies, raging. Enmeshed, we try to fix, save, change each other. Tailgating, we engender co-dependency, locked in an intensely emotional form of loving and hating. Given a slight break in life's bumper to bumper traffic, a truck with two posted signs pulls in between. "CAUTION: STAY 100 FEET [...]
God Speaks Through Truck Signs
Sometimes we live too up-close to people. We hang on the bumper of our loved ones, directing. We hang on the bumper of our enemies, raging. Enmeshed, we try to fix, save, change each other. Tailgating, we engender co-dependency, an intensely emotional form of loving and hating. Given a slight break in life's bumper to bumper traffic, a truck with two posted signs pulls in front of me. "CAUTION: STAY 100 FEET BACK" and [...]
Our Wise Fork
Good morning... The How Stuff Works website provides a creative answer to my brain's quirky question: "How does a tuning fork work?" The website explains, "The choir comes to a hush as the choirmaster steps into the room. 'All right, let's tune,' she declares to the assembled singers. Producing a two-pronged metal tool from her pocket, she strikes it against her knee. After a shrill whine, it begins to emanate a mysterious, angelic hum. [...]
How Do We Love Those We Don’t Like?
Good morning... “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’" explains Jesus in Matthew 5:43-44a (NIV). "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven." At age 39, Martin Luther King Jr. was maturing as a 'child of our Father' when he was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on [...]
What Occupies Your Mind?
Good morning... "Our minds are always active," said Henri Nouwen's 1.14.16 morning meditation. "We analyze, reflect, daydream, or dream. There is not a moment during the day or night when we are not thinking. You might say our thinking is 'unceasing.' Sometimes we wish that we could stop thinking for a while; that would save us from many worries, guilt feelings, and fears. Our ability to think is our greatest gift, but it is [...]
Our Full Length Mirror
Good morning... God hangs on our wall a full-length mirror. "Christ is the deepest truth of our being." (David Benner, The Gift of Being Yourself, p. 4) Staring into our clear mirror, we notice ourselves taking on the mind and the heart of Jesus. We witness the actualization of the Holy Spirit in us. More and more like Christ, we mature to become fully, deeply human and fully, deeply God. Responding to the world [...]