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“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9 Read Jeremiah 17 Have you ever gone to the Dr. only to get an answer you just didn’t feel was right? “Oh well”, I thought. I’m not a doctor so I guess it is what it is –but it just didn’t seem right. My heart rhythms had often been so crazy I thought it was going to leap out of my chest, and I would get extremely light headed. Lent is a great time for heart surgery. It seems

“The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes… By them also is your servant enlightened, * and in keeping them there is great reward.” Palm 19:8,11 Read Psalm 19 Lent comes in the Spring of the year for a purpose. God wants to remind us there is always new life waiting to spring up within us. Repentance should always produce joy, and it is that joy that should be our dwelling place, for joy comes

“I have considered my ways and turned my feet toward your decrees.  I hasten and do not tarry to keep your commandments.” Palm 119:59-60 Read Psalm 119:49-72 My friend began hitting me harder and harder in rapid succession. I wondered what was going on. I wasn’t that good at cussing. In fact, he was hitting me way more times than one hit for each word, but I kept trying. There was a reason he was hitting me so much, as I was about to learn. The most important thing in li

Day 26 A Countdown to Listening to Jesus in the land of the Bible A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, knowing that he had already been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” John 5:5-6 CEB I remember standing by the ruins of the pool of Bethsaida where Jesus healed the man who’d been sick for 38 years. We don’t know his age or what was wrong with him exactly. Perhaps he was sick from something

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated… 9 For with thee is the fountain of life, in thy light do we see light. Psalm 36:1, 2, 9 Words are a fascinating thing. They have an intrinsic meaning yet over time it seems the meaning can change. Societies change the meaning of words all the time as people begin to use them in ways they were

In thee, O LORD, do I seek refuge; let me never be put to shame; in thy righteousness deliver me! 2 Incline thy ear to me, rescue me speedily! Be thou a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! Psalm 31:1,2 As a boy, I often heard my father say, “Son, there’s no shame in being poor.” I’m not sure why he felt the need to tell me that so often. I never really felt poor growing up. I guess by American middle class standards we were at the low end of the spectrum, but

6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about thy altar, O LORD, 7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all thy wondrous deeds. Psalm 26:6,7 Dove soap may leave you with softer, smoother skin after washing, but it leaves a nasty after-taste in your mouth. I was about 10 years old when my mother caught me playing a game with friends we were visiting in Colorado. The game was to say as many dirty words as you could, and for each word the other guy to your right woul

O men, how long shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? [Selah] But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him Psalm 4:3-4 Have you anyone for whom you long to return to goodness and right living? Perhaps a wayward child or friend? They seem lost and you fear they shall not find repentance before the end of their days. David composed Psalm 4 as and ode to such feelings. He has confiden

Matthew 5:7 As Christians, we talk a lot about grace. We’re saved by grace, and we couldn’t make it through a day without grace so it’s only natural that we think a lot about it. Brennen Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel, a few years before his death said, “All is grace”; I love that thought. Grace is everything we receive from God. That means even the mercy of God is grace. Mercy and grace are like flip sides of the same coin, though we often fail to see them that way

Psalm 25:6-7 Do you have some things in your past you wish you could forget – youthful indiscretions? Everyone does. Sin always has consequences, and learning from them is important. While we may not ever be able to forget our past, we can take comfort in knowing that God’s great love flows from His mercy and compassion. Psalm 103 tells us God removes our sins from us as far as East is from West. The prophet Micah tells us He “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea”. Fo

“For he himself knows whereof we are made; he remembers that we are but dust.” Psalm 103:14 Read Psalm 103 He Remembers Some people live as though they think they will live forever, as though they are indestructible. They never seem to live with eternity in mind. Their present lives are all that matters and they indulge in any and all behavior with no thought of consequence. Oh, how easily we forget that we are but dust. We need times that remind us of our mortality. We are n

“O God, why have you utterly cast us off? why is your wrath so hot against the sheep of your pasture?” Psalm 74:1 Read Psalm 74 Why? ‘Why’ is the most common question in all of life. It’s asked by toddlers, teenagers, and adults over and over. I guess you could say the question of why is asked because people are so inquisitive and wish to learn. However, in reality, the answers to most all our ‘why’ questions are obvious, but we ask anyway. Perhaps we don’t want to believe t

“Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” 1 Cor. 6:7b Read 1 Cor. 5:9-6:10 Why Not? We definitely have an aversion to suffering in our culture. I know, nobody should want to suffer, right? Only a masochist would choose to suffer, right? Perhaps, but what of the person who chooses to suffer for the right reasons? The Corinthian people were doing what many in our world today are doing; they avoided suffering or being wronged at all cost. The truth is, there is

“For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.” 1 Cor. 4:20 Read 1 Cor. 4:8-21 Cheap Talk Talk is cheap, unless of course that talk gets you in trouble, then it could prove very expensive. I think that proverbial saying says what St. Paul was telling the Corinthians. The great Apostle was a spiritual father to the Corinthians (Vs. 15), and as such had earned the right to talk to them straight about their spiritual lives. As you read the letters to the Corinthi

First Saturday: My Secret Hiding Places “You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; *you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” Psalm 32:8 Read Psalm 32 Kids love hiding places. Hide and seek is one of every kids’ favorite games. They’re so good at it because they’re small and fit in lots of unseen places. I remember as a boy, I had a several secret hiding places-places to hide from my mom or my big sister if I was in trouble. The problem was I eventually had to

“Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4 Read Ezekiel 18: 1-9 The Power of the Cross Have you ever felt as though you were living with some sort of family curse? That may sound strange to you, but many people do. Perhaps it’s stems from a cycle of abusive behavior, or even a hereditary trait. In the Old Testament, scripture taught the people of Israel that the sins of the fathers we

Click Here to Read Today’s Epistle: James 2:1-13 Why are the poor so important? When Jesus said, “…the poor will always be with you”, He wasn’t saying we should take them for granted, that they were somehow unimportant. As a matter of fact, I think he was saying something quite the opposite. I think He was raising our awareness to the poor around us. The disciples were upset the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume had poured it out on Jesus’ feet; they felt it should have

This week’s gospel, November 1-7 The Rich Man and Lazarus Luke 16:19-31 Click Here to Read the gospel. We don’t know a lot about what happens to us after we die. What is Heaven really like?  How will we experience it without our bodies? Of course, in the end of the book of Revelation we learn that there are streets of Gold and there is no more death, pain, or sorrow. However, the scriptures in Revelation, written in apocalyptic style (meaning there are images that hide the me