HYMN DAY! “Amazing Grace” by John Newton. Such beautiful words of promise! I’m clinging to verse 5 this morning. Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see. ’Twas grace that taught my…
The Message version of this scripture is very blunt: “Train me in good common sense; I’m thoroughly committed to living your way.” Common sense seems to be in short supply these days. Have you seen some of the ridiculous directions on household appliances? For instance, “Do not allow children to…
Have you ever felt betrayed by someone? Chances are, every person reading this answered “yes” to the opening question. We would rather our friends and family members never did anything to hurt us or make us distrust them, but humans are imperfect and sometimes they let us down. That’s why…
When my oldest grandboy was thirteen (what I remember as an awkward age caught somewhere between childhood and adulthood and feeling as if I didn’t fit anywhere), he spent the weekend with his grampa and me. He and I had a lengthy conversation that included his sorrow that his best…
It’s pretty easy to live a Godly life when you’re surrounded by Godly people. Most of the time, however, we aren’t only around Christians. We find unGodly people in our workplaces, the stores we frequent, on the streets, and….well, everywhere we go! When we are in the midst of the…
HYMN DAY! “Onward, Christian Soldiers” by S. Baring-Gould always inspires me to march around the house while I sing, even if it disturbs the cats. 1 Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward…
My parents were married a little over 60 years when my Mom graduated to heaven. That’s a pretty big number, and a pretty big commitment! But even more than my mom and dad were committed to each other, they were individually and as a couple committed to following their Lord.…
Has someone ever done something kind for you and you made it a point to repay them somehow—not because it was what they expected, but because you appreciated their gesture? That’s what the psalmist was talking about here when he calls God his portion. God satisfies us at the core…
Have you heard the old adage “practice makes perfect”? It’s kind of misleading. Humans can’t reach perfection because we’re, well, human. But by practicing, we get better and better and will eventually make fewer and fewer mistakes. The same applies to our Christian lifestyle. We need to make holiness our…
Are you a night-time worrier? I don’t know what happens sometimes, but I lay down to sleep and immediately my brain starts tripping through all kinds of things that are not conducive for peaceful rest. I have found an antidote for the night-time worries. It’s found in Isaiah 26:3—”You will…
