“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” I Peter 2:9 Recently on social media, I connected with a group from a town I lived in when I was a child. Looking at pictures and reading posts has brought back a lot of memories. It was while we were living there that my Dad experienced salvation and as a result, our family came to know the Lord. I often ask the question: “Why…
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 We live in a world filled with violence, strife, and all manner of evil. Young people are committing suicide because they have no hope of a better future. Mass murders have increased in our nation during the past few years. Children and young people have had their lives cut off before they had a chance to reach their full potential. Who knows what great things they may have accomplished if some misguided person had not decided to take their life? How do we cope with what is going on in our world? For those of us who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we find hope and peace in knowing that He is in complete control of this world. You see,…
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22 KJV) This is as it SHOULD be. It was God who, on the 4th Creative Day, made Days, and Seasons, and Years. God created this sequence, and no man can alter or stop it. Ever since Creation, we see the artistry of The Almighty, varying the light, incorporating the dark, blending hues and changing brushstrokes to make each day, season, and year unique. No two, since Creation, have ever been identically the same. Even within that very first Day, He ordained it to contain both evening AND morning, darkness AND light, sorrow AND joy, sickness AND health, tragedy AND triumph, breaking AND mending, goodbyes AND hellos. Seasons within seasons—joy in the grief, light in the darkness, both together in the same day and in the same season that He made. “And God saw that it was good.” It is God IN the clouds that dims our sunniest day, and yet in the midst of our darkest sorrow, it is He “who giveth songs in the night.” Everyone whom the Lord deeply loves, from HIS hand receives…
Seasons don’t last forever—they were made to END. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV) I remember spring in Alaska—REAL spring, not calendar spring—when after the seemingly endless months of winter, the hardy little blades of grass would finally push through the vanishing snow crust, and the crocuses and lupine would burst into glorious bloom. Then, the peaks have their “spring clothes” on—patches of black rock and glossy meringue-white snow making the mountains look like a pod of giant orcas, swimming through the pass. When the daytime temps…
“Lord, increase our faith.” “And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” (Luke 17:6 KJV) Jesus did NOT say, “If ye have faith THE SIZE of a grain of mustard seed …” He said “AS …” Again, I don’t believe it was the seed’s SIZE that Jesus was referring to as a simile for faith, but what the seed has inside—its HEART. What is INSIDE a mustard seed? It is COMPLETE: The Creator has pre-programmed every mustard seed to have everything it needs to fulfill its role in His Perfect Plan: a spark of life to sprout roots, a tiny stem, and leaves—eventually bark, boughs, flowers and mustard fruit—plus more seeds identical to the first one for multiplied generations of trees. If each of those second, third, fourth generation seeds is planted and a tree grown, eventually you will have a whole orchard—even countless orchards—of mustard trees. A seed is NOT a tree, but God makes sure every seed is perfect and fully equipped to grow a tree—even…
Remember “the Uncola?” In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s marketers for 7-Up came up with a scheme to distance their drink from the more popular dark carbonated beverages. They sold it as the “Uncola.” Meaning to cash in on the spirit of rebellion that characterized much of the hip culture of the day, they tried to make 7-up look like a rebel, too. By adding an “un”, they sought to describe what 7-up WAS by what it wasn’t—it was definitely NOT a cola. Jesus often used different kinds of figurative speech to make a point or teach a lesson. Analogies, metaphors, similes. (It’s as if HE—the Master of the Universe enjoyed making teaching as interesting as possible!) A notable example of this was when Jesus confronted His disciples’ apparent UNbelief. The disciples watched Jesus heal a sick child that they themselves were unable to help. When they asked the Master why they were powerless to help the boy, “Jesus said unto them, Because of your UNbelief …” (Matthew 17:20a KJV) “Because what you have is UNfaith.” The word in the New Testament often translated as “faith” and “belief” is the Greek word “pistis” meaning “persuasion.” Jesus had asked them…