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Little, sweet baby feet. Mary will soon cover them with her hand, warming them against the night chill. She has treasured in her heart all the words spoken about her first born Son. Things like, "The angel was so glorious, shouting out praises to God on High and the Good News! The Messiah is born! Our long awaited Savior, the Lord, is born!" And word went out publically, through the bright streets of Bethelehem. The star shining down on the child. The little feet, toes curled against the chill, wiggled in His mother's hand. Eight day old, tiny feet with…  ( Click for more )

Something I had not thought about before is those wicked kings that show up in Jesus’ lineage. Matthew Henry points out that grace does not run in the blood. Here’s what he says:

Some observe what a mixture there was of good and bad in the succession of these kings; as for instance (Matthew 1:7-8), wicked Roboam begat wicked Abia; wicked Abia begat good Asa; good Asa begat good Josaphat; good Josaphat begat wicked Joram. Grace does not run in the blood, neither does reigning sin. God's grace is his own, and he gives or withholds it as he pleases.

Often…  ( Click for more )

But let all who put their trust in You rejoice; let them shout for joy forever, because You cover them. And let those who love Your name be joyful in You. Psalm 5:11

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Mark 9:23-24

The Psalm was written and sung long after God had performed many miracles: …  ( Click for more )

...I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this." 2Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. (Revelation 4:1-3)

Then a voice like a trumpet called out, “Come up here!”

I ask you, who…  ( Click for more )

Luke 15:8 Or what woman having ten drachmas, if she loses one drachma does not light a lamp and sweep the house, and look carefully until she finds it? 9 And finding it, she calls together the friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I lost.

The drachmas, in Jesus time, was equivalent to the Roman denarii and was worth about 18 cents, so ten coins was worth about $2 or approximately ten days wages. James Merritt told his congregation back in March of 2002 that these ten coins this woman possessed were her engagement ring and…  ( Click for more )

GOD smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, "I'll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I'll never again kill off everything living as I've just done. (Genesis href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/index.cgi?q1=Gen+8:21&t1=_msg">Genesis 8:21 MSG)

Noah was offering the sacrifices that God had told him to bring with him into the ark. Not only were there two of every kind of unclean animal and creepy crawlies in the ark, but there were also seven pairs of clean animals and creepers …  ( Click for more )

There was a story told long ago about a certain wealthy man. He had so much wealth he struggled to remain alive because he did not want to leave behind his wealth when he died. When that fatal day finally came, the angels came for him, and he begged and pleaded to bring at least some of his gold with him to Heaven. The angel tried to explain to him that naked he came into the world and naked he would leave. But, his gold had never let him down. He had always been able to open locked doors with it and to build bridges to foreign lands with it. So after vigorous pleading,…  ( Click for more )

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive” (Scott, 1808).

Frankly, we are all guilty. (James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.) The question remains though: Should public officials, pastors, and ministerial staff be held to a higher standard? Is there any lie that is okay for any of these guys to tell?

Let’s take a look at a few examples…

Corrie Ten Boom tells of a family who were hiding Jews from the Nazis. The grandmother of the household was so nervous…  ( Click for more )

I always know when the music swells and the snow starts falling the movie is over, and the couple, entwined in each other’s arms will live happily ever after. However, for the two hours (or hour and a half depending on commercials) before this special moment the couple have waged a battle of the sexes or have montage-d through a breathy song or two to fall in love. They look deeply into each other’s eyes and suddenly realize that life is unbearable if the other is not around. They seem to know this because we need another montage and breathy song to tell us they…  ( Click for more )

My daughter wailed, "I wish God would quit strengthening me. I'm so tired of all these trails and tribulations!" That was several years ago. She has since matured greatly in the Lord. I am amazed at how much in such a short space of time.

Then someone asked me to send them "that thing from that Baptist church where that shooting took place." It took a minute for me to remember what "that thing" was... and where it was. When I found it, I read it again and tears just poured down my cheeks. It was then that I realized there are many, many blessings…  ( Click for more )

You know you rock along really well for a long time not doing anything stupid. You don't get all puffed up about it, but you feel really responsible because you haven't locked your keys in the car in years, you haven't locked yourself out of the house in months, and you haven't spilled your dinner on your shirt in days.

Then you do something really stupid like wash your cell phone... in the washing machine... with bleach.

I never took out the insurance on my phone because I've had one for years and years and I've never dropped it in the sink, or on concrete, or in the…  ( Click for more )

(An excerpt from my new workbook that is a companion to my book "Refreshment in Refuge")

Our battles begin and end in the mind… Freedom of will is the same as freedom of choice. We choose who we love, where we live, what we eat, how we react to our trials and tribulations. We choose not us suffer consequences so we obey our parents. We choose to believe God exists and believe His Word, or we can choose not to believe. As in the passage from Joshua, "Choose you this day whom you will sever, as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." …  ( Click for more )

How can it possibly be all right for any person to sin and then to blame someone else for the sin?

How can it possibly be all right for any person to sin against another person causing havoc, chaos, hurt, and heartbreak?

It is not. It never will be all right.

God never said it was all right. This is precisely why He sent His Son to die on the cross. It was to reconcile Him to us, His creation. No sin can enter into His presence. We have to be covered by the blood of Christ so that the sin is atoned and we are reconciled.

That does not make sin all right.…  ( Click for more )

I remember when gasoline was 35 cents a gallon during a price war in the late 1960s. (Yes, I know that dates me! Although, I am not as old as dirt.) That was long before Esso had to change its name to Exxon. I can still hear my dad say, “Fill’er up.” We’d get the full treatment. It was why they were called service stations rather than gas stations. My dad worked at one of those while he went to A&E school—Airplane and Engine mechanic school. He was very familiar with Christian service.

Service is much more than checking the oil level…  ( Click for more )