Grains of Sand

Pixabay A pilgrim's journey through an increasingly hostile world is not easy. All the encouragement and instruction given by Peter to the believers scattered throughout Asia and Palestine was valuable. But without a doubt there were moments of fear and worry that would have plagued the followers of Jesus even though they had their eyes fixed on home, on the incorruptible treasure waiting for them. The determination to stand for their faith would meet opposition again and again. It might result in more loss than that which they had already suffered. Concern would turn to worry, and worry turn to fear. So Peter writes these words in 1 Peter 5:7,  "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  Anxiety is an overwhelming consumer of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual resources. I would like to say that it is like a vacuum cleaner sucking up everything around it, except that my vacuum cleaners are not nearly as efficient as all that! But you ge...

Pixabay Here's where we are going as we travel through 1 Peter: Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go on from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion.  —Psalm 84:5-7 Here's the next part of how we are going to get to our destination: I recently embarked on an archiving course. In preparation I bought a few books that looked like they might help me navigate my way through something I know very little about. I also confess that keeping track of important things in my life is not something I do well and I can certainly use some guidance on how to do a better job at that. One author used a fascinating illustration when discussing how vital it is to keep track of the important stuff. Apparently someone at NASA erased a huge chunk of the original video that had been taken duri...

Pixabay I have my pastor to thank for this one. He is working through the Book of Acts on Sunday mornings. Today's message was from Acts 3, the story of the lame man who had an encounter with Peter and John at the entrance to the Temple. His life was dismally the same every day—sitting at the entrance begging people to drop a few coins into his hand. It was all he had, all he expected, all he thought he would ever know in life. Until... " When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, 'Look at us!' " As my pastor remarked, with that statement the man anticipated a big payday! " So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, 'Silver or gold I do not have...' " Disappointment. And his attention, so focused on these two men and what he might gain from their generosity, probably began to shift away to the next peo...

Pixabay I ran across this brief devotional while sifting through some articles I had written on the FAITHWRITERS website. I wrote it in 2005 but its truth still remains current for today. “ Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water .” ( Matthew 14:28 NIV ) You have to admire the audacity of Peter. As for me, I don’t like small boats. I prefer my water in a glass or at least in a form that comes with a tap. If I had been Peter, I probably wouldn’t have even been in the boat, much less trying to walk on water. But sometimes the events of life don’t give us a choice. Unlike Peter, we don’t even get the opportunity to ask permission to take a walk on the wet side—we get tossed out of the boat and seemingly left to sink or swim. A serious illness, a financial setback, a ministry turned misery, a relationship that fails, a past that haunts us, a present that overwhelms us and a future that defies us—who would ask to walk on these turbulent waters? For P...

Pixabay “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid .” (John 14:27) What kind of peace does the world give? Temporary. Treaties are made. Treaties are broken. Ceasefires cease sooner or later. Someone looks and lusts; conflict breaks out in the push and pull of political intrigue. Relationships sail along comfortably until the next storm. That’s not God’s peace. That’s not what Jesus promised as He approaches the epicentre of conflict—His world’s  need to be rid of Him. The political and religious leaders clamour for His death. He knows this. He knows what is coming—the maelstrom in the making. And He speaks of peace that nothing can disturb and tells His disciples not to be troubled and not to be afraid. It is not a peace conjured up by force of character. Jesus says He is leaving HIS peace with them—the inheritance of those filled with His Spirit. It’s permanent. It’s living, b...

Pixabay One of my reading plans for this year is entitled 365 Popular Bible Quotations for Memorization and Meditation . At first reading of this verse I wasn’t sure why this particular quote would fall into that category, but here it is: “ But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me .” (2 Kings 19:27) The context is yet another of those moments in Israel’s history when she is facing overwhelming odds against her. The king of Assyria and his forces are threatening Jerusalem. Hezekiah goes before the Lord to plead his cause and that of his people. Isaiah, the prophet, appears before the king with this message to deliver to Sennacherib, king of Assyria, a message that also serves to reassure Hezekiah that they have not been abandoned by the God of Israel. The message to God’s people in Jerusalem is this: “ Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before...

Pixabay It was the moment of truth. The nation had to decide who it would follow—Baal or the Lord God. Elijah climbed Mount Carmel to be confronted by a bevy of four hundred and fifty prophets who have come to prove that Baal was God, backed by another four hundred and fifty prophets of Asherah, Queen Jezebel’s preferred. He stands alone, but doesn’t hesitate to turn to the people and challenge them with this: “ How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him. ” (1 Kings 18:21) Did he hope they would make the choice without the test that was to follow? The telling statement follows: “ But the people said nothing .” Silence. I suppose the good thing was that they didn’t cheer for Baal either. They were waiting for proof and when God delivered they would fall on their faces and declare, “ The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God! ” (vs. 39) One of the criticisms often leveled at believers is that they practice “blind” faith. ...

Pixabay It was inevitable I suppose. A recent article in Christianity Today ( http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/january/bolivia-makes-evangelism-crime.html ) reported that the government of Bolivia has fortified its penal code with provisions to persecute any person or group that, “ …recruits, transports, deprives of freedom, or hosts people with the aim of recruiting them to take part in armed conflicts or religious or worship organizations will be penalized 5 to 12 years of imprisonment. ” President Evo Morales, an admirer of the late Hugo Chavez, former president of Venezuela, has beaten the Venezuelan government to the punch by this latest endeavour to still any voices in opposition to the abuses and oppression of the regime. Interesting that, “ armed conflicts ” and “ religious or worship ” would be mentioned in the same statement as if they were related in some way. Just a couple of weeks ago a friend traveled to Bolivia to do some ministry in an orphanage in that c...

Pixabay Complaining was one of the many negative character qualities of the children of Israel. They weren’t that long out of Egypt—accompanied by many HUGE miracles that attested to God’s provision for them—when they were grumbling about the “room service”. Several times food and water were the issues. But though God could have avoided the conflict, He didn’t, preferring to test the faith of His people and to teach them valuable lessons about that faith. He let them go hungry for a reason. In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses speaks these words to the people: “ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord ”. So important was this lesson that Jesus used the latter part of the verse in His contest with Satan in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:4) The children of Israel must have wondered about the application of the les...

Pixabay Pharaoh and his army are in hot pursuit of the children of Israel. Despite all the suffering caused by the plagues that God had to send on Egypt to persuade the King of Egypt that it was in his best interests to let Israel go, he’s had a change of heart—or head. Who is going to build all his monuments to himself if his slave labour is allowed to escape? The children of Israel have been led to a spot on the map which seems illogical for a people looking for the best way, and the fastest, to “get out of Dodge.” They are now surrounded, facing the sea, and about to be closed in by Pharaoh’s army. God had informed Moses that He had a plan to use the situation to bring glory to Himself (Exodus 14:4). However, the thunder of the horses’ hooves, the rumble of chariot wheels, and the sight of a vast parade of armed and angry soldiers, drove any reasonable thought out of the heads and hearts of Israel. “ They were terrified ” (14:10). Sounds right. Reasonable thought says that the G...

Pixabay The Gospel and the young. However you define the “children” Jesus refers to in Matthew 18:1-14, the result is the same—don’t cause the young to stumble in their faith, or else! Jesus was responding to a question put to Him by His disciples: “ Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ” (18:1) Considering some of the other discussions they had among themselves I suspect they wanted Jesus to affirm that they, for the sacrifice of following Him, qualified for the position. Instead Jesus takes a young child and uses the simplicity and fervour of a child’s faith as an illustration of who will be the greatest in the kingdom. That provides a launch pad for this: “ But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea ” (18:6). Yikes! This leads to an even more graphic description of what is necessary to protect the budding faith of the young. ...

Pixabay You shouldn’t expect regenerate behaviour from unregenerate people. You can’t mandate righteousness. You can’t force people to believe as you do. This is a truth that many forget. Moses might have liked to have Pharaoh fall into line with God’s plans to rescue the Hebrews from slavery and establish their own nation. But Pharaoh did not believe in the God of the Hebrews so why would he obey Him? There were times when pagan rulers DID acknowledge the God of the Jews and order things to happen that went against their own best interests and that of their people even though they themselves did not believe. But in those circumstances, it was a God-driven initiative that came from within, not a force from without yielding a stick big enough to demand obedience. In Pharaoh’s case, God had some business to complete with Egypt that required their resistance to Moses’ request. In Exodus 7 the Lord says to Moses: “ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous ...

Pixabay I was named a “fool” this morning for saying that Hebrews 11:1, “ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see ” is indeed the definition of faith. If this had come from someone who didn’t claim to be a believer I would not have been surprised. But it didn’t. It’s okay. In this case, I'm a happy fool! This morning I was playing catch-up in my reading (yes, I do sometimes get behind—with or without a valid excuse). Sure enough, Abraham is the heart of the passages that I needed to read. He plays a large part in the Hebrews 11 description of people of faith, those who believed where there was no evidence to support the promises made to them. In Genesis 12, Abram left Haran and completed the journey his father had begun—the journey to Canaan. He would never see the fulfillment of the promises God made to him. When he arrived in Canaan, God confirmed that promise: “ Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west...

Pixbay " My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. " (Luke 1:46-50). So begins what is sometimes referred to as the "Magnificat" or Mary's song. It is her response to her cousin Elizabeth's words: " Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished! " (Luke 1:45). Praise is the ultimate result of faith. It's how we say that we believe. Praise is not the logical response to our circumstances. For Mary, it was not logical to praise God for being an unwed pregnant girl whose only explanation was that the Spirit of God had overwhelmed her and given her a child who was the Son of the Almighty and Saviour of the world! But faith is of...

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 It was, to my mind, an unfortunate choice of title. A very popular author has published a 12-day devotional entitled Making Sense of God . I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he probably didn't think through the implications of that title: what it suggests about him and what it suggests about God. If he had written six volumes of 2,000 pages each on the subject he still would not have met the mandate suggested in that title. It wouldn't put a dent in our understanding of God. A 12-day devotional doesn't cut it and to suggest that it could is presumptuous even if the author really didn't mean it. Isaiah sums it up: " 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts' " (Isaiah 55:8, 9). Paul follows up with this in Romans 11:33, " Oh, the depths of the...

Pixabay Many cats are not "cuddlers." Of all the feline friends I've had, the current one, Lou Lou, is the cuddler.  She loves to be held. Don't we all. Yesterday afternoon I watched the movie, RISEN . I don't know whether it was the story line, or the fine acting, or that I was being particularly sensitive, but there were scenes where the actor playing the part of Jesus touched or embraced other characters. Those scenes moved me to tears and I wished for that kind of embrace. I thought again how blessed the real people in the real story had been to have felt that loving arm of Jesus holding them close. As the character portraying Jesus disappeared into heaven he reminded his followers that he would be with them always. Even though not physically present to give them "cuddles" he would be there by his Spirit to meet every need (Matthew 28:18-20) as they went about the mission he had sent them to do. In Psalm 139 we are reminded again of that ...

Pixabay Voices bombard us, each insisting on us following their lead. They make promises. Health, wealth, well-being, success, enjoyment, belonging, significance, healing of the psyche, healing of the soul are included in the long list of "Follow me and see what good will come into your life!" But then there is that still, sometimes small voice, heard in spite of the din of the world: " ...follow me... " (John 12:26). Following Jesus was about to get extremely difficult. This particular " follow me " was spoken on the eve of the last supper that Jesus would enjoy with His disciples. His arrest, trial and death would severely test the loyalty, the faith, of His followers. He didn't even give them the consolation of a reference to His resurrection. " 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produc...

Pixabay So many of the psalms are cries for help.  That, in itself, should tell us something. God doesn't mind cries for help. And David was usually not shy about admitting his needs. God knows we can't.... Feel free to fill in the blanks with whatever it is that you can't do, or be, or feel. I'm not sure if David composed Psalm 143 as a bedtime prayer. I imagine it that way because of verse 8: " Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love. " As he pours out his grief to God, not knowing what the next day may entail, he admits his need for mercy, for relief, for forgiveness, for protection, for encouragement, for a touch from the Lord Himself (vss. 1-6). His desperation requires an immediate answer: " Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit faints with longing. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. " This i...

I was distracted. That’s a poor excuse. Somewhere in the delivering of the study last night I mentioned that I found it more difficult to multi-task with the passing years. I guess I proved my point—at least to myself. My mouth was trying to say one thing while my mind was struggling with something else. The result was, what felt like at least, a very disjointed Bible study. When I was making some sense, we were talking about walking with the Lord. The study launched from the two Scriptures in Genesis 5 and 6 that describe Enoch and Noah, Enoch’s great-grandson, as men who “ walked with God .” In my devotions this morning I was reading Hebrews 12, a passage rich in material that felt like a follow-up to last night’s study. The first two verses, familiar as they are, were particularly encouraging and challenging. “ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with p...