Moving day was overwhelming. When our new neighbor Ginny came to the door with a plate of blueberry muffins and an offer to help, it was like cool breeze on a sweltering summer day. “I’m free this week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I can help unpack, clean—whatever you need, I’ll be ready to do.” After many years of working and saving, friends of ours were finally enjoying a family vacation. As they pulled up to the tollbooth on the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel in VA with the hefty $15 fee in hand, they got quite a surprise—from strangers! The toll…
My friend Bev recently changed her work schedule, freeing up more time for ministry. One morning she prayed, “Lord, show me what you want me to do today.” “Go to Walmart,” said the Lord. “Walmart?” questioned Bev, “but I don’t need anything at Walmart.” “Yes, Walmart,” responded the Lord. “Go, and I will show you when you get there.” So Bev arrived at Walmart, still unsure of what would happen. “Where should I go, Lord?” “To the back of the store, the toy aisle,” came her answer. There Bev encountered a distraught looking woman, softly weeping. During the next 15…
Every December the street behind our local high school becomes a tourist attraction for young and old. Cars wait in line turning onto the street, people stop to take photos, and the oohs and aahs of delight can be heard—all in front of one house—the one known far and wide for its incredible display of Christmas lights. There’s one in every town, isn’t there? During the time of Christ’s birth there were no laser lights and inflatable reindeer, but rather, the most spectacular light display ever—“the glory of the Lord”—that shone round about a few modest shepherds who received word…
When circumstances threaten to swallow us up with despair, will we be pulled under, or rise above? The answer lies largely in how we’ve been training. It’s the training in peacetime that prepares a soldier for when the battle rages. Does he stand in the front lines of combat without knowing how to use his weapons? Of course not! Why should we expect to be strong and prepared spiritually, if we haven’t been devoting time to “training”? Ephesians 6:12 gives us the crucial reminder that the “fight” we’re in is not person against person, but spiritual. Life is a spiritual…
Spring signals new beginnings. As the sun warms the earth and winter’s glory fades, it’s always amazing how plants in the yard that looked dead return to life. Tender shoots appear, soon to burst into lush green leaves and colorful flowers. Easter heralds new beginnings also. The Old Testament book of Isaiah prophesies of the coming of Christ, comparing him to a tender plant, yet how his life would ultimately be despised and rejected: “My servant [Jesus Christ] grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or…
