Morning Thoughts

Happy Wednesday to you! Yesterday, I made a trip to Grove to get my osteoporosis shot. I also got the results from my latest scan and they were not very good. Sometimes, these bodies of ours just don’t hold up like they should. I don’t have boils and I’m not in pain, but on some level, I find myself relating to Job. And also unlike Job, I probably brought some of my calamities on myself—drinking too much caffeine, not enough calcium, etc. But still, as I read though the pages of Job, I find myself thinking some of the same thoughts. And, then I realize this book is about so much more than misfortune and suffering.  To paraphrase Philip Yancey, a cake is not “about” eggs, flour, shortening, and sugar but rather those are the things a baker uses to create a cake. In the same way, the book of Job is not “about” loss, suffering, and illness, but rather uses these ingredients for the author to explain the story. If we look at Job as an entire book, it’s about faith—of one man who was ...

Happy Tuesday to you. Monday was a much better day for the guppies—not one death! Total disaster to success. That’s often the way of things in our lives. This week, our sermon was on the crucifixion of Jesus and when we got to “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me,” I was intrigued with the thought of Jesus reciting the Psalm.  As Jesus grew up, he read and memorized the Old Testament. He recited the prayers, sang the hymns, and memorized the poems. These are the bedtime stories He grew up hearing. He revered every jot and tittle of all the Hebrew scripture. It is no wonder then, as what was left of His body was hanging on that cross, He recited the first part of David’s 22nd Psalm.  “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?...Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, “Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!”.....

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great time this weekend and were able to join in corporate worship time. I’m babysitting this week for a tub-full of guppies. I’m not a great pet person (my sister has always called my house the “pet death farm”) and this experience hasn’t proved her wrong. I just got them Saturday and by Sunday morning 4 were dead. After church, 3 more had bit the dust. So I decided I needed to do something different. I thought they needed more water so I filled a big pot full to sit and I went to the store to find something to add air and dechlorinate the new water.  When I got home, 6 more were dead! So I looked In he garage and found a styrofoam cooler that was bigger and I transferred them to that, hooked up the new pump, taped it in place, and after the tablet had stopped fizzing (per instructions) I carried to pot of water around to pour into the new fish home. It was about this time, something happened and I spilled that pot everywhere! The rug was soaked, I w...

It’s a summer weekend and I hoe you have all kinds of wonderful things planned. Yesterday I baked snickerdoodle cookies for my boss. He’d done a favor for me in May and I’d told him I’d bake for him. (Never let it be said I’m fast!) The secret to good snickerdoodles is in the beating of the butter and sugar. When you first start, it is the color of the butter. But after five minutes or so of high speed mixing, the butter/sugar combo lightens up a couple of shades—noticeably lighter, as though the sugar has decided to shine through. The two ingredients have taken on a new physical property because they have been blended so tightly together.  That’s the way God wants us to be with His Holy Spirit. He wants us to be so tightly blended with it, that we are changed—that the Spirit shines through and we are no longer like we were before. One by one, our old characteristics of hatefulness, selfishness, deceitfulness and prideful becomes our new nature of goodness, kindness, patience, tho...

Happy Friday! Here we are at the end of another week—can you even believe it? Yesterday, Bailey and Braden and I finished off our evening with spectacular fireworks at Silver Dollar City. They really were something. And at the end, they were shooting off so many at one time, it was just a multicolored light extravaganza for a few minutes. We were in awe. Unbelievable! Do you ever find yourself saying that over circumstances? Times when things are either so amazing or bizarre that we think “How could this really be happening?”  Jesus’ disciples said that a lot about things He did and the road He wanted to travel. He made all kinds of bizarre statements about believing in Him. He called Himself Water, Bread, the Cornerstone, the Gate, the Light, the Vine, the Shepherd, the Life, the Resurrection, the Way, the Truth, and the Son of Man, as well as a few others. Even though somethings and sometimes it may be unbelievable, He told us that we must believe He is who He says He was if we r...

Happy Thursday! Yesterday I spent the day with Braden and Bailey and we really had a great time. We talked about “remember when” times and how much fun we have had together. Bailey and I took a little “high maintenance” quiz and they both were able to answer every question for me—and correctly! We have shared sometime together.  That’s what happens when you share time with someone—you get to know them really well. And that’s what happens when we spend time with Jesus—we get to know him really well..It follows then that the more we know Him, the more we act like Him and copy His ways. We will begin to think about things the way Jesus thinks about them when we spend time in His presence. We learn to love deeper, care further and think about others more than ourselves. It’s what Jesus does.  “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrific...

Happy Wednesday. Yesterday while I was working, my grandson brought me something to drink. I was so relieved because all day, I had been really thirsty. It was my third glass, but I was every bit as thankful for that one as I had been the first one. Thankful, grateful, blessed when someone goes out of their way to do something kind for us. It’s a very good feeling when we receive when we don’t have to do anything and we want to pour out gratitude.  That’s how we feel when we consider what Jesus has done for us, all that he has given us.  “I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Praise is our gift to God; we can’t ever pay him back or do something that could even approach what He has done for us, but we can offer our praise.  The above text says His Praise will continually be in my mouth. Praise God at all times,regardless of our circumstances. As a matter of fact, If we want to get through the rough times e...

Good Tuesday to you and my prayers for a day where God will be glorified. My sister and I spent most of the day driving yesterday and at the end of it, we went to see our mother. Mom doesn’t have her mental capacities any longer and there really isn’t a conversation to be had with her. Visits are difficult and sad, but praying for her helps us. We ask God to keep her and comfort her wherever she may be.  Lately, I’ve been asked to pray for several different situations and I’ve felt a strong leading to prayer for a few others. When we can’t move it, fix it or go around it, we are left with but one option, prayer. When Jacob faced one of those situations, he said “We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”” Genesis‬ ‭35:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Im not talking about usual quiet time prayer, but rather one of specific need—something that is certainly troubling. When we are in times of u...

Good Monday to you! I hope you had a great weekend and a wonderful time in worship with fellow believers. We had a great time in Kentucky with relatives and we went to church in a 140-year old sanctuary with big, brass pipes for the organ. It was so sweet to watch my uncle taking up the offering down those old isles. I wanted to tell everyone around me “That’s my Uncle Buddy!” “Hey, do you know who I am?” Too funny, right? I’ve been reading through the book of John again and I got stuck at the place where Pilate basically asks Jesus “Do you know who I am?” And when we read that, it’s almost laughable because we know who Jesus was and we barely know anything about Pilate. (“Rich and Poor, Jesus is the maker of them all!”) “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a gre...

It’s the weekend and I’m spending it with my mama’s brothers and sisters. My mom’s oldest sister is 95 and we are celebrating her. It going to be a great time. Last night, I was talking to my Uncle Buddy about what he’d spoken about earlier in the day when he was leading a Bible Study at the Nursing Home. He spoke on Elijah and Ezekiel.  He used the story of the widow trying to make the last meal for her son and herself during the famine. When Elijah showed up, he told her to use the little bit of resources she has to make him a meal because he was the man of God. She did as he asked and behold, God filled her flour bin and her oil jugs and she had food throughout the entire famine.  “Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up an...

It’s Friday. Is it hot there? It’s really hot and humid here—ooh, yeah...it July in Missouri! I’ve been studying about the Via Dolorosa the last few days. While I was in Jerusalem, I walked the traditional “Way of the Cross” from the Lions Gate to the church of the Hoy Sepulcher. We know Jesus carried His cross from when he was sentenced by Pilate at the Pretoriam at Herod’s palace, all the way to Calvary. History, archeology and scripture pretty well tell us that it was a very different route than the one that is marked today.  Since the time of Jesus, there have been a few “routes”-one from Mount Zion, one from the Temple Mount. In the early 1900’s the current route was developed with stations—some Biblical and some from traditional stories. Station 1 is where He was condemned; 2 Where He began to carry the cross; 3 He fell; 4 Jesus met His mother; 5 Where Simon of Cyrene was pulled out of the crowd to carry the cross; 6 where supposedly a woman named Veronica wiped his face with...

Happy Wednesday! I’m so glad it’s here (yesterday I kept thinking it was Wednesday!) One of the places I visited in the old city of Jerusalem that I remember well is the Tower at the Church of the Redeemer—I climbed it, all the way to the top. When you look at the city from a distance, two things inside the walls catch your attention. The Golden Dome and that Tower. Looking at that Tower, reminded me of the Psalmist saying “Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.” (Psalm‬ ‭48:12-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬) When I found out they let people climb the tower and see all of Jerusalem, I was determined to do it. It’s 178 narrow, steep, circular stairs. I had to rest once on my way up and with my touch of claustrophobia, it was a challenge, but, I prevailed!  When I reached the top, I couldn’t quit staring. As I looked ...

Happy Tuesday! I had a great start to my week. I was able to visit with girlfriends from high school that I haven’t seen but a few times over the years. It’s seems funny to look at 62-year old women and see 17-year old girls, but that’s exactly what I see—how they look like to me. Its not that I don’t know the wrinkles are there, but they’re just irrelevant. It’s comforting some how to see through the passage of time. It must be similar to how God sees us—He just looks to the future rather than the past. He knows about the flaws and the imperfections, but when He looks at us, He sees what we are going to be—like Jesus.  “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.” 1 John‬ ‭3:2-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I love that we are told we will be made complete through Jesus...

Good Monday! I hope you had a great weekend and you spent some time with fellow believers worshiping and strengthening your walk with the Lord. Last night I got together with my group from the Holy Land and we had a great time of food and fellowship in a beautiful setting. We talked about how meaningful our trip had been and how very much it all meant to each of us—the Sea of Galilee, Mt Nebo, Ceserea by the sea, Capernium, Gethsemene, the Western Wall... I don’t know what was the “most meaningful” to me, but I know when we went into the tunnels to see the base and the entire length of the Herodian Western Wall where the excavations under the city were taking place, I got chills when I realized how very close to the Holy of Holies we must have been. We we at the spot where Jehovah God dwelt.  The Western Wall is like an iceberg In that most of it is under the ground buried beneath time. Above ground, the “famous” part is about 200 feet long. Under ground, you can walk the entire l...

It’s the weekend and I sure hope you have had a blessed week. We have blessed times often, don’t we? And then, we get those moments that simply take our breath away and leaves us speechless. Those moments we don’t get very often. Maybe once a month? Maybe a couple of times a year? Maybe just once every few years, right? I think one reason I was so overwhelmed with the Holy Land is that I went around in a perpetual state of breathlessness. It has taken getting back to “real life” to sift through and contemplate the significance of each place.  One place we went that is probably not “the place” was the Garden Tomb. It wasn’t discovered until 1867 and predates Christ by several hundred years. (It wasn’t unusual to reuse tombs in those days, but Jesus was laid in an unused, new tomb that Joseph of Arimathea had built for his family.) However, it is a beautiful setting and looks very much like it would have looked. The wonderful thing about the Garden Tomb is the surroundings. It sits i...

Happy Friday. This was a quick week, but at my age, they all seem to go pretty fast! Last night I was thinking about praying and asking myself questions like a 12 year old. Why do we bow our heads and close our eyes? Why do we fold our hands? Where is that in the Bible? Is there a reason that we are most often quiet and alone? I decided that some of it for me is a concentration-thing. I need to close out the world and get in that “special place” with just me and God. I have enough ADD that it takes a quiet, alone place to shut out distractions.  When we were at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Jews prayed loudly—loud and public, hands raised and/or extended, as they read their prayers and rocked back and forth. I don’t know if there is a right way or a wrong way, but isn’t it noteworthy that we are so steeped in tradition? They in theirs, us in ours? Sometimes watching them in their prayer time, it was pretty obvious that they take the reverence and the holy respect a couple of s...

Happy Friday. This was a quick week, but at my age, they all seem to go pretty fast! Last night I was thinking about praying and asking myself questions like a 12 year old. Why do we bow our heads and close our eyes? Why do we fold our hands? Where is that in the Bible? Is there a reason that we are most often quiet and alone? I decided that some of it for me is a concentration-thing. I need to close out the world and get in that “special place” with just me and God. I have enough ADD that it takes a quiet, alone place to shut out distractions.  When we were at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Jews prayed loudly—loud and public, hands raised and/or extended, as they read their prayers and rocked back and forth. I don’t know if there is a right way or a wrong way, but isn’t it noteworthy that we are so steeped in tradition? They in theirs, us in ours? Sometimes watching them in their prayer time, it was pretty obvious that they take the reverence and the holy respect a couple of s...

Happy Thursday. How is life going for you? For me, it seems a little too busy. I’d like to slow it down a bit but I’m not sure where to start. There’s nothing particularly extraordinary that consumes me, it’s just simple ordinary tasks. And that’s what life seems to be—a series of ordinary days. There have been times of extraordinary, but mostly, those came while going through an ordinary day.   That’s how it was for David when he went to take his brothers some supplies when they were in the army of King Saul defending Israel. The Hebrews had control of the hill country and the Philistines controlled the coastal plains. The buffer zone was a series of five valleys, one of which was the Valley of Elah where Goliath was taunting the Israelite army.  Today, there’s nothing particularly remarkable about the Elah Valley. There’s a satellite dish on one hill, a wheat field, some greenhouses, a dry stream-bed that separates weeds—it looks like nothing special. But this place was a ve...

Good Wednesday to you! As I continue to ponder and study the things from my pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I cant help but be amazed at how Jerusalem has had such a storied history. It began with Abraham taking Isaac up Mt Moriah and God telling David to purchase it for His dwelling place (the Temple). It amazes me that this is the very place that Jesus was trates the very best and the very worst in the span of 5 days.  Along the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Suffering of the Savior) is the Church of the church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church was built over the “place of the skull” by Constantine (~310 AD) because after Caesar crushed the Jews at Jerusalem about 66 AD, he had the temple and all holy places torn down and a temple for Athena built. About 300 years later, when Constantine was in power, his mother (Helena) was in the process of removing the pagan temple, when a tomb was discovered that was thought to be the one Jesus used for three days. She had the Church of the Holy Sepul...

Good Tuesday Morning to you! I hope your week has started off well. Can you believe how quickly summer is rushing by? Maybe it’s my age. I was talking with a friend yesterday and speaking of life, she said “It’s gone fast!” I remember my grandma saying the same thing. Maybe that’s why as people we like to make sure we mark where things happened—life goes so quickly, we don’t want anyone to forget.  When the remains of Caiaphas’ palace were discovered, there was very little of them left. Most of what remains is predominantly the sub terrain dungeons, so a church was built in 1931 over the site where the palace originally stood. Just outside the church is the courtyard area where Peter most probably warmed himself by the fire and was confronted as being one of Jesus’ followers. This site is also called Saint Peter’s In Gallicantu, or the place of the cock crow, because it is the site where Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. “Peter replied, “Man,...

Good Monday to you! I hope you had a great weekend and were able to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.  Several months ago, I decided to watch A.D., the story of the early church. I didn’t make it through the first episode, though, because they had changed and modified the Bible and it was really irritating to me. Who needs to “improve” on the Bible? But after visiting the Holy Land, I decided to try again to check out the backgrounds. And this time I was really able to appreciate the settings, the costumes, the way Jerusalem and Samaria and Joppa May have looked. It was amazing how much I could gain from the picture of what it all. (I still don’t like it that they changed facts.)  Caiaphas (the Jewish High Priest) is a major figure in AD and the views of what his palace may have looked like are pretty good. Seeing how he was dressed and what he may have been facing, gives a better picture. We always want to really hate the Pharisees and the Saducees because of what th...

It’s the weekend and I’m late writing. I was so very tired yesterday, I decided to wait for the weekend devotion until Sunday. This morning, I’m excited for my corporate worship time and for learning truth that builds my faith.  Corporate worship time must have been important to Jesus, too. He spent much time in the temple, reading and teaching, even as a child. The last time Jesus entered the temple at Jerusalem was on Tuesday of Passion Week. Recall that on Sunday, He rode in on the donkey and went Into the temple. On Monday, He cleansed the temple of the money changers and others who sought to profit from people simply coming to worship. And on Tuesday, His last time there, He condemned the religious authorities and proclaimed His deity.  The steps Jesus would have taken up to the temple are, in large part, still there. They are 200-feet wide and are different widths and heights. The walker could not ascend to Temple Mount without paying careful attention to what they were ...

It’s Friday and I hope you had a good holiday where ever you may have celebrated it. Last night, the sky was just lit up for a few hours—everywhere you looked there were amazing light shows. There was a place a half a world away and 2,000 years ago where the night sky lit up—supernaturally—with a hops of angels over a little field outside of Bethlehem.  When we visited Bethlehem, I was stuck by how much it resembled any town in the US where there is a long history of tourism. We passed the “Manger Square Hotel”, “Shepherds Grocery”, “Holy land Hotel”, “Tree of Life” gifts, the “Shalom Hotel” and my favorite, “Stars and Bucks”. There are actually two churches that have built cathedrals over the place where It’s thought Jesus was actually born. But in the fields, where shepherds were keeping watch over their sheep, it relatively untouched.  When we think of shepherds, we have idolized them, I think. But actually those guys were pretty low on the social and economic scale. And t...

Happy Fourth of July! Do you have a big celebration planned for today? We are going to grill and eat and grill and eat and shoot fireworks then...maybe eat once more! This is one of my family’s favorite days of the year. We love summer and we love to celebrate.  A few weeks ago, my nephew sent me a response to my devotion and I have thought about what he said ever since. I was going to re-write it for you, but he just says it very well so I want to share it with you.  “As I reading your devotional this morning, it made me think of how we often forget that God in the Holy Spirit is present with us in other believers as well.  We are pretty good about acknowledging the Spirit as an internal, mystical presence, but we don't always take seriously the fact that the Spirit has "flesh and blood" because he inhabits God's people around us. “So, if we want more of the presence of God, part of how we accomplish that is to be around Spirit-filled people.  The Spirit in our hear...

Wow. It’s Wednesday, July 3rd! How is your day going? Yesterday, after working, standing several hours, I stuck my feet in the pool. The water was cool but not cold and it felt wonderful! My achy feet needed that wonderful water to relax them.  One thing in Jerusalem and the surrounding remains that surprised me was all of the ritual baths. In all the ruins, one or two or more have been excavated and one of them was still attached to a spring so it was full of water. I understand that it was a big part of ritual for the Jews, but there is something inherently healing for our souls about water. The Pools of Bethesda (The place of healing) is a site in Jerusalem that is still uncovered and easily seen. The pools were huge and when the Bible says many of the sick and lame were around the pool waiting for the time of healing there, it’s easy to visualize. Two large pools surrounded by colonnades, what a site that must have been.  “Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a po...

It is Tuesday, the second day of July. Did anyone think June flew by except me? A friend of mine was lamenting yesterday how the last time he’d seen a friend, his friend’s children were small and when he saw him last weekend, all of a sudden he had grandkids! How fast time seems to just speed by.  But not all time goes fast. It seems that we have been waiting quite a long time for Jesus to return. But we can rest assured it will happen. That promise made by our Lord is sure.  On Tuesday of Passion Week, Jesus taught in the temple and told the parables of the two sons, the tenants, and the wedding feast. Afterwards, Jesus declared the seven woes to the Teachers of the law and the Pharisees and then, went back across the Valley of Kidron to the Mount of Olives. It was here that He spoke the famous Olivet Discourse and reveals what is to come to the disciples.  The prophesy may not have made much sense to them. This was a time of peace, thanks to the Romans and He told them ...

Happy Monday. I hope you had a great weekend and are ready for the week. Do you ever see places that make you wonder? On my way to church, I pass by an area with abandoned buildings of sorts, a large pond, a tiny house on high stilts, and it’s all fenced in. Maybe an abandoned mining site? Nevertheless, it always makes me wonder what happened in this place?  Sometimes when I was in Jerusalem I wondered “is this the for-sure place?” But other times and other places, there was no doubt—“it was right here!” Like the Kidron Valley that separates the mount of Olives from the old city is the same place—the name has not even changed.  The Kidron Valley where David ran through as he was running from his son Absolam. It’s the valley where Jesus rode the donkey on his way for the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It’s the same Valley where after the last supper, Jesus and his disciples crossed to get to the Garden of Gethsemene on the Mount of Olives.  The Mount of Olives sits on t...