Joy in the Journey

  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 This very clever play on words is not mine. I am borrowing from Brennan Manning. Given what I know of him, he would be happy to share it with me and let me share it with you. After all that is the whole point of “Son bathing.”            It seemed very appropriate that I would come across this term in a season when those of us who live in the sunny South are exhibiting signs of outdoor activities. We see glowing skin from days at the beach or pool as well as tans from hard work in the great oven that   is Florida in the summer. We see these changes in complexion and we comment, we inquire.   Have you been to the beach? Pool?           How lovely it would be if as a result of our Son bathing people were seeing, commenting and asking? ...

  Bur concerning Israel he said, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” Romans 10:21 This morning in prayer I was reminded of one of my most difficult students. This little guy had a hefty side dish of autism in addition to his more obvious syndrome. He could easily become violent, growling, hitting and scratching, with little or no provocation. On the other hand he had the sweetest smile, the best laugh (when it was a true laugh, not an evil one) and I believe a kind heart. I absolutely loved him. Still to say that I was a bit terrified of what he could do to me is not an understatement. Oh my boy!           There were so many times as he was gearing up for destruction of property or persons, that I thought,   if I could just grab him and hug him close he would calm down. Not so. On rare occasions he would let me give him a hug. Admittedly I was leery, as we never knew when sweet...

    Saul answered “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” 1 Samuel 21 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Judges 6:15 Discouragement is an ugly, insidious disease.   Looking around and feeling that all you have attempted has failed, that every effort is met with defeat, every relationship a fraud and all hope just slightly out of reach is completely debilitating.   That being true, think of what a fine tool discouragement is for our enemy.   If we can only see what we can see and not what God sees, we sometimes, too often for many of us, have to ask, “Why bother?”           For a long time Gideon has been one of my favorite citizens of the Bible.   He is quick to sa...

  God rejoices over you with singing. The Lord your God is with you, the mighty warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 This is how we know what love is; Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16a   Years ago I played a game with my oldest grandson, Joey. The game was “I love you more than….” And we filled in the blank, each time upping the prize a little until Joey would say his current favorite thing, soccer, the Pooh movie, French toast or whatever he dearly loved at the moment and I would say, “You win!”           This morning I was reminded of that game while in prayer.   I felt the deep love of my Savior and I thought, no matter how much I lo...

  Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 …speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Ephesians 5:19a Trendy phrases are not usually my friend. I love words. I take great delight in clever uses of words and phrases. Rarely do I ever embrace a trend that minimizes the meaning of great word or maximizes a small one. I’m still struggling not to cringe every time I hear the word, “selfie.” Lord, deliver me!              So, imagine my surprise when I was taken by a new and somewhat odd greeting. “What’s good?” I heard it first on a television show and was right in step with the character who, on receiving that greeting, needed it explained to her. At first I just found it odd. “What’s good?” sounds like s...

  One generation will commend your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. Psalm 145:4   A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. Proverbs 13:22 A legacy can be many things I guess. When I looked up the actual definition it said, “a gift or bequest.”   I’ve heard people refer to their legacy in terms of how they want to be remembered.   Never have I given much, if any thought about my legacy, until the other day that is.           A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting my son’s church on a week when he was leading the worship portion of the service. My son, Jeffrey, is a very talented musician in many areas. He’s good at entertaining people but when he steps up to lead worship it takes his talent to an entirely different level. To say that he is anointed is not an exaggeration.           So there I was at that...

  I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. Jeremiah 31:3 Many years ago there was a Supremes song called “Love Child.” It told the story of children born to parents who had not bothered to get married before conceiving them. There was a lot of shame and humiliation implied in the lyrics. The singer is saying that she will not make that mistake or cast that shame onto her own child.           Those lyrics may seem a bit odd in these days where children born outside of marriage are pretty much the norm. Still the message is there, we aren’t good enough based on the facts or circumstances of our early life. Sad. The sins of the parents should not determine the value of the child. Thankfully they don’t. Nor do our own sins determine our value to our Father.           Read the verse above again. “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”...