Psalm 55 begins, “Give ear to my prayer, O God; do not hide yourself from my supplication. Attend to me and answer me. I am troubled in my complaint.” Then, in verse 17 the song continues, “But I call upon God and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter […]
Dr. Keith Wagner once wrote about the devastation caused by the eruption of Mount Saint Helen in 1980. The forests were destroyed by fire, and the rivers were choked with debris. Fish and other wildlife died. Toxic fumes filled the air, and the future for the area seemed bleak. However, less than a year after […]
One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 46. This Psalm has been read for centuries by people during times of great need or crisis. We read this Psalm in our church on the night of 9/11/2001. Today, I invite you to hear the Psalm again as a simple message of hope and trust. Psalm 46 […]
Psalm 32 reads a little like a before and after commercial. You know the kind, “Before I got the Ginsu super cutter knife, my culinary life was a virtual disaster, but now…!” Only the genuineness of this Psalm is undeniable. It is attributed to King David and it deals with the power of confession and […]
A pastor was trying to explain to a Sunday school class that God is all around us. “God is everywhere!” said the pastor. “Everywhere?” asked one little boy. “Everywhere!” answered the pastor. The boy went home and told his mother, “God is everywhere! The pastor said so.” “Yes, I know,” replied the mother. The little […]
I once saw a collection of questions to be used for spiritual direction. They were all questions that Jesus asks people in the gospels. Like any good teacher, Jesus employed good questions as teaching tools. The idea for spiritual direction is that you would take just one question and live it for a few days. […]
You may remember that in 1953 Edmund Hillary was the very first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. What you may not know is that he had a partner in his success. His name was Tenzing Norgay. Not only did Tenzing climb the mountain with him but on the way back down the […]
Many of you will be familiar with the Hymn “All Creatures of Our God and King.” It was written in the year 1225 by St. Francis of Assisi. Originally, this poetic masterpiece was titled, “Canticle of the Sun.” It was clearly inspired by Psalm 148. Francis was almost completely blind at the time he wrote […]
Years ago I remember one of my daughters asking me, “Daddy, what was here before God?” And, I answered, “Honey, God has always been here, and God will always be here.” “How is that possible?” she replied. “Hmmm. The truth is, I don’t know.” It is difficult to get our minds around the concept of […]
Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed!” It is amazing how often in the New Testament Paul’s letters include words of encouragement. He almost always opens his letters with thanksgiving for those to whom he is writing. And he almost always finds something supportive, something uplifting to share […]
