I met a lonely widow woman the other day. She had a visitor staying with her, a paying guest, to support her and her son in their time of financial stress. The paying guest was generous and they felt safe while he was with them. They felt he somehow protected them...
"Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." (Psalm 50:15) Down in the Florida Keys there’s a bait and tackle shop named Capt. Hook’s. It’s crammed full of fishing ‘stuff’. Small signs are on the walls, like “I’ve only got one nerve...
“Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done. An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.” (Luke 22:42-43 NIV) A traumatic event in my life many years ago led me to pray these simple but difficult words of...
"The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 'Go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made. I will speak to you while you are there.' So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he...
"Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before them: If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then...
"Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them (again) and said, 'Peace be with you!'" (John 20:26) The door slammed shut. We were having dinner, and even with the animated chatter I could hear it bang closed. When we have...
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the...
Years ago there was a small theme park called "The Land of Oz" which was on land owned by the Beech Mountain ski resort in western North Carolina. You would wait outside Aunt Em's house and when the right number of people had gathered, a girl who looked like Dorothy...
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33 NIV) Jesus said for us to not worry about what we will eat or drink or wear, because our heavenly Father knows that we need these things. He said if we...
"As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he called out, saying, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!'...