Grains of Sand

Pixabay “ Praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) Reading these verses reminded me of a life experience that a missionary colleague shared with me some years ago. She and her husband were serving overseas. They were expecting their first child—actually children plural. She was carrying triplets. The babies, all boys, were perfect when they were born. But none of them survived. She was RH negative, and the medical personnel were unaware, or unprepared, for the implications of that reality during her pregnancy or when the babies were born. I asked her what that terrible tragedy meant to her as she looked back on it years later. Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1...

Pixabay Sometimes it is only a niggly feeling of disquiet. Sometimes it is an overwhelming sense of disaster. Most of the time it is something in between those two things. Fear stalks us every day. It's the smell of overheated wiring that might led to a fire. They say that most of the things we fear never happen. But then they sometimes DO happen. We try to be brave and "put on a happy face" but inside the niggle becomes a gnaw and the gnaw becomes a full-blown chomp. David knew the feeling. Psalm 56 describes his thoughts when the Philistines grabbed him in Gath. " ...they are always plotting to harm me. They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life " (vss. 5, 6). For most of us a physical enemy is not a factor in life. But then there are illnesses, loneliness, financial concerns, family tensions, and a host of other things that press down and the niggle begins. And if we don't catch the niggle, the gnaw is harder to deal with...

When God created the earth and men to live upon it and enjoy it, He gave them two commands: They were not to eat the fruit of one single tree (Genesis 2:16) and they were to care for the environment into which they had been placed (Genesis 2:15). Psalm 65 begins with the invitation to praise God as the psalmist writes: “ Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled ” (65:1). How does praise await God? When Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit of that single tree, they brought down on themselves, and every generation since theirs, the judgment of God. God had options at this point. The one He chose would astound the world: He sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the debt that mankind owed because of sin. Though David did not know it at the time, he spoke prophetically of the Messiah when he wrote: “ O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you atoned for our transgression. Blessed is the man you choose and bring near to live ...

Google Images If Jacob thought that he had escaped the intrigue by running away from home and going to live with his relatives, he was sadly mistaken. The lies, manipulation and deceit continued in his uncle’s home. He worked for seven years in order to gain the hand of Laban’s daughter, Rachel, only to end up with Rachel’s older sister, Leah. Then he worked for another seven years to finally get Rachel. This story is recorded for us in Genesis 29. But it is Leah that captured my attention this morning. Her father basically “sold” her into a loveless marriage. His excuse was that tradition dictated that the oldest daughter marry before the youngest, but it does sound like he bothered to find her a husband during the first seven years that Jacob spent working for Rachel’s hand. In any case, we see the hand of God in all this mess. “ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren ” (Genesis 29:31). God gave her someone to love and someone who wou...

Google Images Yesterday I needed to go to the bank. I got there before the doors opened and while I waited I read the fine print on the bill I was about to pay. Among the tidbits of information was one that informed me that if I were to pay only the minimum amount required each month it would take me six years (including interest, of course) to cancel the debt. Good grief! This morning I read about an incident that took place just before Jesus began that final journey to the cross. He was visiting the house of Mary and Martha and enjoying a meal with His friends. “ Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfum e” (John 12:3), When I lived in Venezuela I used to buy the flowers from which nard perfume is made. The smell was so powerful and so beautiful that it filled the house just as is described for us here. Jesus had spoken about His death. Di...