Grains of Sand

Pixabay In 1902, E. T. Cassel penned this song: 1. I am a stranger here, within a foreign land; My home is far away, upon a golden strand; Ambassador to be of realms beyond the sea, I’m here on business for my King. Refrain: This is the message that I bring, A message angels fain would sing: “Oh, be ye reconciled,” Thus saith my Lord and King, “Oh, be ye reconciled to God.” 2. This is the King’s command: that all men, everywhere, Repent and turn away from sin’s seductive snare; That all who will obey, with Him shall reign for aye, And that’s my business for my King. 3. My home is brighter far than Sharon’s rosy plain, Eternal life and joy throughout its vast domain; My Sov’reign bids me tell how mortals there may dwell, And that’s my business for my King. Obviously this was written long after the pilgrims of Peter's day had received his letter encouraging them to remain strong and faithful despite the difficulties of their lives ...

Pixabay It's not the first time I've heard it, but never before from my brother. He remarked recently that he enjoys the first snowfall of the winter. "Firsts" are special—first birthdays, first anniversaries, first ______________. You fill in the blank. Mary's first baby was special too, but perhaps for different reasons than most first babies. She knew Who He was. Most moms have an idea of who they want their babies to become. They are ambitious for their kids whether they are "firsts" or not. But Mary really KNEW. The angel told her: " You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end " (Luke1:31-33). To Joseph, the surprise of Mary's pregnancy and all of its implications, came with a similar mess...

Pixabay Ahhhhh, what a wonderful thing it is to feel the heat of a warm stove on a cold day! A blankie. A cup of hot chocolate. The embrace of a friend. Sometimes even trouble has to find a corner to hide in. That's the essence of Psalm 71—a man with troubles, but a man who has wrapped himself in the embrace of God and, no matter how serious the trouble, he is comforted. The "punch line" (or one of many) is the first verse: " In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. " Not a chance. The one who places himself, or herself, within the safety of the " rock " (vs. 3) will never have reason to regret the decision. It's not that things have always been easy. To: " Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter..." , the psalmist adds, "...you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again " (vss 20, 21...

Google Images Last night I watched White House Down —for the second time. I had seen it on the big screen last year and when I discovered it was on television I decided to watch it again. Throughout the movie I found myself thinking, “This can’t be the same show! I don’t remember this!” Granted, my memory isn’t always the best, but honestly, though there were parts that I did remember having seen, most of it seemed new to me. But I also caught myself paying closer attention this time to the details. Perhaps in the back of my mind I did remember the story and now, months later, I had enough background tucked away back there to be able to focus on the nuances. Though there is a limit to the depth of most fiction, whether it be on the screen or in some other form, I would probably find something new in the movie should I ever watch it again. That same kind of thing happens when it comes to the Scriptures. This time we have a true story with depths that we can only begin to fathom. But...

Google Images It was an expensive gesture. Just two days before His death, Jesus reclined in the house of Simon the Leper. We can assume that Simon wasn’t a leper any longer, but he isn’t the focus of the story. As Jesus sat at dinner with His disciples, a woman came into the room. She might not have been noticed if she had been a servant in the house, intent on putting down some delicacy before the guests or filling up their cups. When she broke open the flask she was carrying and poured its contents on the Lord’s head, we can almost imagine the collective gasp that filled the room along with the scent of perfume. I was traveling from Lahore to Shikarpur, Pakistan. As we landed, the man sitting beside me opened his briefcase, took out a bottle of cologne and doused me with it. Honestly, I had showered and to this day I have no idea why he did it! In this story from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus made the reason behind the woman’s actions abundantly clear. “ She has done a beautiful thing...

Google Images Jesus was a wonderful storyteller. He understood, as all good teachers do, the value of starting where your students are in order to take them where you want them to go. So the Lord used familiar launching points to bring His audience into spiritual truth. Matthew 13 contains a number of the parables, or stories, He told. " Once upon a time, there was… " is a familiar phrase that tells children everywhere that story time is about to begin. For Jesus, many of His stories began: " The Kingdom is Heaven is like… " Tucked away among the parables of Matthew 13 are two short ones found in 13:44 (The Hidden Treasure) and 13:45, 46 (The Pearl). Both describe men who discovered something precious and went out and sold everything they had so that they could buy what was beyond price. To many people the parables were simply stories. The message of the illustration was not understood. One of the greatest frustrations to a storyteller is to have the audience mi...

As I read the passage for today in my journey through Exodus I came across these verses: " Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come " (Exodus 27:20, 21, NIV). 1 Samuel 3:3 describes the boy Samuel, lying beside the altar during the night. He was probably tending the lamps when God called him. The lamps were an eternal symbol of the presence of God among His people. God was always on duty, as it seems at least one person was to be. Stock.xchng The picture reminded me that, as believers, we need to be always ready, day and night, to reflect the light of God in a dark world. This old hymn well expresses our mission: Brightly beams our Father’s me...

Some people DO pay attention. It has crossed my mind that ten plagues was sort-of overkill. The object was to get the Hebrews out of Egypt, so why not just do a couple of miracles, skip directly to the last plague and then presto, we’re out of here! I think one of the reasons is hidden in this statement in Exodus 9:20: “ Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. ” This was plague Number 7. We often forget about the Egyptians in this tug-of war between Moses and the King of Egypt, but not every Egyptian followed Pharaoh’s party line. There were a few who believed—at least to some extent—though it may have taken them seven plagues to do it. We sometimes wonder why God seems to be so slow to rain judgment down on unbelievers. It’s not that His patience is limitless. No, He will judge sin and sinners. But He is also merciful and here in Exodus we catch a glimpse of that mercy, Yes, He wanted to cement in the...

Consider the moth. He is attracted to the light and tries to get as close to it as he can. If he gets too close… In Genesis 13 we find Abram and his nephew, Lot, having some challenging times. They were both rich men, which meant lots of herds and flocks. Their herdsmen and shepherds were having problems sharing the grass and the water and fights were breaking out between them. Abram called Lot in for a meeting to resolve the issue and magnanimously, gave his nephew first choice of all the land that they could see. What Lot saw were the fertile plains along the Jordan. If he noticed the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (13:13), he shrugged the implications of living near them aside. “ So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east…Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom ” (13:12, NIV). When we catch up to Lot a few chapters later, in Genesis 19, we discover Lot living in the city of Sodom. That was to have ...

Reading: Acts 13-15 The heavens, and the earth, continue to declare the glory of God.

Reading: Acts 3, 4 You have to admire these people. They went from a huddle of scared rabbits “…with the doors locked for fear of the Jews ” (John 20:19, NIV) to the “Bring it on!”, “Is that all you got?”, “Come on, hit me again!” in the days and weeks after Pentecost. From scared to scary–at least for the local authorities. The magistrates and religious leaders couldn’t shut them up. They just HAD to talk about Jesus. They just HAD to meet daily and worship, pray, learn, and fellowship. These believers in Jesus, followers of the Way, created such a buzz that many joined their ranks. It was a “God-thing,” the power of His Spirit unleashed in people who wanted God’s kingdom to come to earth more than anything else in the world. They put everything on the line, including their lives, to fulfill the mission that Jesus had sent them on before His ascension. They took “ Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation ” (Mark 16:15, NIV) very seriously. That commitme...

“ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved ” —Acts 4:12, NIV. Frederick Whitfield said it well: There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth; It sounds like music in my ear, The sweetest name on earth. It tells me of a Savior’s love, Who died to set me free; It tells me of His precious blood, The sinner’s perfect plea. It tells me what my Father hath In store for every day And tho’ I tread a darksome path, Yields sunshine all the way. It tells of One whose loving heart Can feel my deepest woe, Who in each sorrow bears a part That none can bear below. Refrain: O how I love Jesus! O how I love Jesus! O how I love Jesus, Because He first loved me! Embrace that Name. Hold it close to your heart. Place it foremost in your mind. Keep it on the tip of your tongue. Whisper it frequently in reverence and love. Shout it when you can. Sing it with joy. Share it at every opportunit...

“ Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers ” —Psalm 1:1, NIV. Psalm 1 was the first chapter of the Bible that I memorized in Sunday School as a child. I can still picture, if my memory isn’t playing tricks on me, standing in the Primary classroom in the basement of the church, reciting the psalm in front of Mrs. Wood and my classmates. In those days memorizing Scripture was an important part of what we did in Sunday School, and I still remember Psalm 1 as clearly as if I had learned it just yesterday. This particular verse had its greatest impact on me when someone explained the progression in it. The psalmist says that a person enjoys happiness, contentment, peace, with God when he doesn’t: 1. Walk , or get too close on a regular basis, with those who would encourage him to do what doesn’t please God, 2. Stand , or hang around, with those who are not doing what would please God,   3. Sit...

A little frog in a huge pond surrounded by multitudes of bigger and louder frogs doesn't seem to stand a chance of having his wee croak heard above the clamor. So why bother to croak at all? Can a frog not croak even when it seems no one can hear him? Perhaps on the fringes of the pond, far away from our little frog, his voice will not be heard. Then again, there are those other frogs close by who will surely hear our froggie's voice. Perhaps they will listen and believe his words. Perhaps their croaks will change in pitch, delivering a different sound to the frogs that sit in crowded solitude around them. In turn those others might believe  and pass the word until at last, the sound of one little frog's voice reaches the outer fringes of the big pond. So I ask the question again: Why bother to croak at all? If the frog is focused on reaching the fringes with his tiny voice, he might become discouraged and not croak at all, his ardor dampened by the impossibilitie...

Psalm 67-69 When we are sloughing through the mud and mire of difficult circumstances, when we feel as though the troubles of life are about to pull us under and drown us in despair and depression, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Aside from calling for help from God, which should be our first step, what follows? David's words in Psalm 69 intrigued me this morning. The sweet singer of Israel is up to his eyeballs in difficulties. It doesn't appear that his troubles are the result of his sin though he is quick to acknowledge that even in the best of circumstances, he's not perfect (vs. 5). What is obvious is that David is being badly treated for all the right reasons. He is hated because he is doing what he knows the Lord wants of him. He's called for relief, but God is holding off sending the cavalry for the moment. What caught my attention the most in this psalm was David's concern for those other God-followers who might be watching his stru...

The latest pronouncement of the Venezuelan government boggles the mind. It will no longer be granting access to dollars for importers of deodorant. The logic behind this? Smelling bad for a nation of extremely clean people would be humiliating—and humiliation is just another means of subjugation. My only consolation comes from my mother's experience. As she grew older, she stopped sweating. There was no longer any need for deodorant. I hit the big 60 this year. Do I dare hope that by the time I can't buy deodorant here, I will no longer have any need for it? To every experience there seems to be a Biblical truth. My prayer is that no matter what the body exudes, my life will give off the sweet aroma of Christ. Paul writes: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To th...