When You Need Rest, Seek Jesus
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”— Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV). Deafening fireworks, intense thunderstorms, a restless mind, and not enough sleep have all combined to sap me of energy this month. Although fireworks ended around July 6 where I live, thunderstorms have intensified in our area, leaving me tired because they’ve been striking at night while …
Do We Ever Learn to be Patient?
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer”—Romans 12:12 (ESV). Straight-line winds, reported up to 100 miles per hour, hail and several tornadoes toppled trees and power poles, ripped off roofs and sparked structure fires across Oklahoma on June 18. Over 350,000 power outages were reported across 20 counties. Oklahoma electric companies worked day and night to restore the power. Help arrived when power company employees from other states assisted in restoring electricity. Almost 1,000 across the state were still without power 10 days later. I’m blessed because my electricity was restored after 13 hours. Others in …
Loving Your Neighbor as Yourself
“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”— Matthew 22:34-40 (NIV). Walking my dog through the neighborhood where I’ve lived for almost three years, I often …
Happy as a Hot Dog
“I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live”— Ecclesiastes 3:12(NIV). Standing on my deck, my five-year-old granddaughter sang a popular song released in the year 2000. At the top of her lungs, she sang, “Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who, who, who? Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who, who, who?” As she belted out the lyrics, several neighborhood dogs started barking and howling. Ruby stopped long enough to hear the dogs’ response before she continued singing. However, in a fit of giggles, she couldn’t …
Help is On the Way
“The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles”— Psalm 34:17(NLT). When I saw flashing lights from law enforcement officers parked in the middle of the road, I did a double take. My mouth fell open as I saw why they’d stopped. A pickup truck was stranded on the highway with only three tires. The fourth was lying in a nearby ditch. Since I didn’t see a jack propping up the vehicle, I assumed it had fallen off while in transit. After arriving home, I couldn’t get the picture of …
Encourage One Another to Grow Stronger in Faith
“So, encourage each other and help each other grow stronger in faith, just as you are already doing”— 1 Thessalonians 5:11(ERV). Meeting over lunch with a Christian friend, I wanted to encourage her during her time of uncertainty and need. She’d lost her job and was now working at our church as the senior pastor’s administrative assistant. However, the pay was much less than her previous job. Since I could relate, I shared stories of how God had provided for me after I retired almost 20 years ago. After taxes and health insurance, I could barely meet my needs. I’d …
Prayer is Our Most Powerful Weapon
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer”— Romans 12:12 (ESV). How often do we find ourselves helpless in a situation, then throw up our hands and give up? Some might say, “All we can do now is pray.” I’ve found myself saying that at times. Quickly, however, I’m reminded by a holy gentle tap on the shoulder that prayer should be my first response. Not my last. How easily we forget the power of prayer. A recent reminder in one of Billy Graham’s devotionals stated, “We have learned to harness the power of the atom, but …
Even Before Creation, God Loved Us
“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins”— 1 John 4:9-10 (NIV). In a recent devotional I read in Billy Graham’s book titled Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith, Graham opened that day’s devotional with the following words: “God’s love did not begin at Calvary.” The opening paragraph continued. “Before the morning stars sang together, before …
Did You Know You’re God’s Masterpiece?
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”— Ephesians 2:10 (NLT). Until a neighbor posted the following on social media, I’d planned to toss the small wood scraps from a project still under construction in my backyard: With spring coming and people cleaning, getting rid of things and sprucing up, I wanted to see if anyone ends up wanting to toss empty paint cans, furniture you want to get rid of or any wood items. I would love to take them off …