At the end of each year I choose a different version of the Bible to read through for the coming year. This year I picked a new version called The Readable Bible. Many times when reading a new version, I see with fresh vision. This year, I felt the Lord challenging me to read this version out loud. (Gulp!) Getting through all the begats and genealogies wasn’t easy, but I made a stab at all those names anyway. I’m happy to…
As I finished reading through the Bible this past month, a scripture stood out to me. Revelation 1:3 says:Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. Many times we talk about reading the Bible, but rarely are we encouraged to read it aloud. That way God’s word gets in not only through our eyes, but also through our ears. God says we will be blessed if we…
Someone told me of a conversation they had at a garage sale. The person said, “We only read and study the New Testament at our church.” When I heard that, I was reminded of a house I saw on the news recently. It sat on the edge of the river. They suffered heavy rains. The earth under the home gave way and the whole house slid into the swollen river and floated away. I then saw another picture…
I spoke with a young man the other day. The subject of age came up. When he found out I was old enough to retire over sixteen years ago he asked why I didn’t. “Because I like my job as a chaplain. Why quit? The Bible never talks about people retiring.” Abraham was eighty-six when he fathered his first child. Moses started on his forty-year trek leading the Israelites through the desert when he was eighty. Noah started building the…
From what I knew of her, she had a quick tongue. Not satisfied unless she had the last word. Always on the defense. After several years of marriage, her husband grew weary and left. As she recounted the latest battle to me, I saw a picture in my mind’s eye. It was a woman standing in front of a bonfire. Beside her stood a pile of wood. Every time she spewed another volley of words, she threw another log on…
With Ebola banging on our door it might be a wise thing to search God’s word, the Bible, for His prescription for our healing. He has a prescription for all our needs whether it be physical, mental, or emotional healing. Here is a page from my new book Looking Deeper. Exodus 15:26 And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear…
We are in the season of Thanksgiving—we are reminded to be grateful for the good and the bad. Sometimes it’s hard for us to see God’s good in a situation but that’s because we’re in the midst of it. We can’t see the situation from His perspective. We don’t know the good He is working out through these situations. It’s times like these that people think God has abandoned us, that He doesn’t care, that He’s forgotten our name. Nothing…
Jesus’ Return Galatians 1:4 “Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father.” As the day of Jesus’ appearing in the sky draws nearer, we see a more definable difference in those who truly have Jesus as their Lord, and those who don’t. For those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus, there is special protection in this scripture even in…
This past weekend I attended the Heart of America Christian Writers Network Conference here in Kansas City. One of the activities we enjoyed was a drama by Karen Morerod. She portrayed Queen Esther from the Bible from the book of the same name. Queen Esther saved her Jewish people from annihilation. Her uncle told her God placed her in the palace “for such a time as this.” I wonder if each of us are aware we too, are placed by…
My husband’s channel surfing finally landed on the History channel recently. The program listed the world’s resources; gold, oil, and water, among other things. At the end of each segment, they stated the dollar amount of each resource in today’s market. At the end of the hour, they estimated the world’s total riches in so many quadrillion dollars. I don’t know about you, but I can’t get my head around that much money. All I can understand is that’s one…