Grains of Sand

Pixabay Our goal: 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 Pilgrims, on their journey to the capitol city of the Kingdom of God, are not promised a trouble-free trip. The believers to whom Peter wrote his first letter were experiencing persecution because they were followers of Jesus. They were scattered throughout the world of their day with little hope of finding peace and safety anywhere since Rome had her tentacles in every part of that world. Several years ago I read  We've Lost. What Now? ,  a book based on lessons from Daniel. In it, author Wayne Baxter describes how Daniel's experience relates to today's church as it hovers on the edges of society, in a world over which, as Francis Schaeffer said in...

clarionenterprises.com (Google Images) An old friend went home to be with the Lord over the weekend. Bob was delivered from cancer, Parkinson’s, and all the beating and battering of life that remind us that, though this world will one day be restored to the pristine beauty and perfection of creation before the fall, it is now only our temporary home. As I read Psalm 33 this morning the last few verses would describe Bob’s hope, and mine. He has now seen the realization of this hope as he stands in the presence of Jesus, whom he loved greatly and served faithfully. For those of us who remain the promise lacks its crowning moment, but it is nonetheless a promise that can be trusted even while we wait to see it completely fulfilled. “ …the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust ...