Joy in the Journey

  Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 I am the Vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. John 15:5   Those are two of my favorite verses. Though neither one is my life verse, they pretty much sum up my faith. Call to Abba and remain in Jesus. If I seek God’s advice and understand that everything, every single thing that I have is a gift from God then life will be a much more manageable prospect.   I live my life every day by God’s grace and by His grace alone. That may sound like hyperbole but it isn’t. Certainly some things are bigger, some challenges, some tragedies, some victories and some joys, are much larger but regardless of size, everything I am or have is powered by God.           Don’t believe me? Breathe. God. Look around. Can you see? God. Did yo...

  No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Psalm 25:3   Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary.   Isaiah 40:28   Yesterday morning I read of the death of Stephen Hawking. Here’s what I know about him. He was brilliant and he was an atheist. He is quoted as having said that heaven is “a fairy tale for people who are afraid of the dark.” Now he is dead and my supposition is that he now has a greater understanding of darkness than he could ever have imagined, even with his huge intellect.             Faith is not about IQ, nor is it about fear of the dark. Faith is about confronting that darkness with a Light that will not be overcome.   Here we come to something that the esteemed Dr. Hawking just could not comprehen...

  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 For unto us a child is born, unto to us a Savior is given.. Isaiah 9:6a   Due to starting a 365 day devotional at an odd time of year, I am now reading messages about Christmas, as I am simultaneously living out some Lenten disciplines. At first I found it a bit odd but then I realized how truly perfect it is.           Lent focuses us on the saddest, most difficult part of the story. Of course there is the perfectly beautiful happy ending but for these days we are walking through the suffering, sacrificing part, the bleakness. No fun! Here I am putting it beside the images of Baby Jesus, long awaited Savior, just now a little bundle of cooing joy. Odd? Sure but as I said, also perfect because it’s the whole story.           Je...