While doing my daily check on facebook, I came across a cry for help. My sister-in-law lives in the Dayton area, an area that was recently wrecked by tornadoes. Thankfully she and her family were safe and suffered no loss, but many in the communities surrounding her were devastated. The church she attends became a holding tank and volunteer station for the greater Beavercreek area and they needed help providing hope to the community.
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Imagine for a moment having 100 of something, anything really, and then losing one of them. For those of you who are slow at math, that leaves you with 99 remaining. What would you do about the one you lost? Let’s say for instance you had 100 pennies and dropped one under the couch. You move the couch but can’t find it. How much more would you dig for it? What about if it wasn’t pennies but something of more value like an animal. I don’t know, say sheep. You have 100 sheep and one of those pesky little critters runs away. What would you do?
Continue readingI find some of the stories in the Bible to be truly peculiar. Some of the stories fit perfectly with what we would expect, while others seem to be a little challenging understand. This might be one of those stories that seems a little odd. I mean Jesus healing is good and all that and really not out of the ordinary at all. But some of the detail seems a little strange to be added into the account. Let’s look a little closer to see what exactly we can learn and why it’s important.
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I’m not a very patient person. One time I made the mistake of praying for patience! Let’s just say don’t do that! God’s not in the business of giving patience. He teaches it! But that’s a post for another day. When we focus on the waiting, it feels like forever! Maybe you’re waiting on the promotion at work? Maybe you’re waiting on the forever someone to enter your life to be your spouse? Maybe you’re waiting on a clear bill of health? Or just an answer to a problem? What do you do while you wait?
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I’ve told the story before about walking across campus in college when a professor asked me how I was. You know the kind of asking when you really don’t expect an answer? Well that’s exactly what this was. He asked and kept going without even listening to my reply. Knowing this I replied how terrible my day was and that I was considering dropping out of school. He kept his pace, didn’t miss a beat and said Good for you. Keep it up!
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So many words we use in church are hollow and meaningless. We use them every week but rarely do we talk about their thrust and emphasis. In this week’s MusicMonday, we find an old song that’s new to me. It’s called Mercy Is A Song. If mercy was a song, what would it sing to you? What would it’s melody sound like? How would the chorus ring from your lips and your hands? If mercy is a song, is it one you can hear from those around you? How well do you sing this song to others?
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Have you ever been looking for something only to find it right next to you? I do this all too often with my sunglasses. I put them on top of my head and then look all over trying to find them. I look in the drawer and on the counter. Then I’ll likely blame someone for taking them! When we can’t find what’s right in front of us, it’s all too easy to make it someone else’s problem.
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Life is a funny thing isn’t it? One day you’re on top of the world and everyone knows who you are and they’re singing your praises (well not really but you get the idea) – then the next day it seems like you’re invisible! One day everything is right and the next nothing goes right at all! How does that happen? How is it possible that we can go from joyful to distraught in the blink of an eye? How can we move from the best day of our lives, when our names are in lights to the bottom of the barrel and ignored by the masses?
Continue readingThere’s a lot of ink that’s been spilled about believing and having faith. The Bible is even filled with talk on this subject. Believing is important for certain! We’re called to believe and be baptized. We’re told that faith without works is dead. Jesus wants us to have faith even like the size of a mustard seed and we can move mountains. But is there more to this Christian life than mere faith? Are we called to do more than just believe?
Continue readingThis year for Good Friday we looked at stories from the Bible that are familiar and yet we saw them in a little different light. As we saw the pain that Jesus endured on the cross we were tempted, like his disciples to sit in despair for a minute or two We were tempted to let his death bring devastation to our day. But we know that’s just not how this works. Even though we know that it’s Friday and Sunday is coming, we often have a little fear or depression that sets in on Good Friday.
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