How Much Longer?!?!?

When Pharoah let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt’ Exodus 13:17 I have been told it could have been a ten-day journey at the most, leaving Egypt and heading to the Promised Land.  But it ended up taking 40 years. The only reason I can see is that their thinking had to change and it took a very long time for that to happen. Their minds needed to be renewed to … Continue reading How Much Longer?!?!?

The Freeze Game

No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; Isaiah 54:17 A couple of weeks ago at work, the kids were playing the Freeze Game. This is a game they made up and if I understood the rules correctly, if the “Freezer” pointed his freeze machine (his hands) at you and made a slight hissing noise then you were frozen.  A five year old approached me with his freeze machine pointed at me and said he was going to freeze me.  I asked him if he knows what the Bible says. He said no. I paraphrased this verse from Isaiah and … Continue reading The Freeze Game

In The Presence of My Enemies

“Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies”. Psalm 23: 5 I have wondered what good food would do for me in the presence of my enemies. Am I going to pelt my enemies with spaghetti and meatballs?  Do I poke their eyes out with bread sticks? This part of Psalm 23 didn’t really make sense to me and I would ordinarily skim right past. But recently, I saw this verse differently. The table He has prepared is laden with everything I have inherited through Christ – every spiritual blessing, every physical blessing, every weapon I … Continue reading In The Presence of My Enemies

God’s Prescription for Healing

…and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14 I realize in this passage that God is talking to an entire people group and not an individual.  However, I believe there are some things we can take from this and apply personally.  I see this as God’s prescription for healing and it has four steps. First, recognize that we are called by His name, we are His. Second, … Continue reading God’s Prescription for Healing

Parting Words

And He (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation…  And these signs shall accompany those who believed; in My name they will … lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”  Matthew 16:18 These were Jesus’ parting words to His disciples.  Some have called this the Believer’s Bill of Rights.  I recently left my son in Montana to stay with his sister for two weeks.  Even though I would see him soon and we had phones, I still wanted to have good, loving, wise parting words.  I didn’t really have any, but I thought … Continue reading Parting Words

Do What You Can Captain

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. Ephesians 6:13  Message Bible Years ago, we had a family reunion at a beach house on Galveston Island.  My nephew and niece were about 6 years old and they were standing looking out over the Gulf of Mexico … Continue reading Do What You Can Captain

No Healing Too Difficult for God

“I am the Lord. I am the God of all people. Is anything too difficult for me?” Jeremiah 32:27 Some years back in our homeschool journey, we studied Mohs Hardness Scale. This scale is used to identify mineral specimens by comparing their hardness to the ten minerals on the scale. Talc is the least hard with diamonds being the hardest and knife-blades and fingernails and copper pennies and other minerals falling somewhere in between. A scale like this apparently works for mineral identification but it made me realize that I have a tendency to put God’s ability to perform a … Continue reading No Healing Too Difficult for God

Speak to Your Mountains: Faith in Action

…”Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea.’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him.  Mark 11:23 Jesus is speaking here. Peter had just pointed out to Him that the fig tree which Jesus cursed the day before had withered. This, perhaps, left Peter a bit confused but Jesus knew it would wither the moment He cursed it.  The evidence wasn’t clear to all until the next morning. Jesus responded to … Continue reading Speak to Your Mountains: Faith in Action

Fall Season

There is a time for everything,    and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 31:1 Fall has arrived here in the PNW. Oh, it’s not quite as colorful right now as that picture, but the leaves are changing colors and some have started to fall from the trees. In due time, the beauty of fall will be evidenced all around us. Fall is a time of shedding off the old, not just leaves from the trees but those things in our personal life: thoughts, feelings, behaviours that may have served us well in a previous season but may hinder our … Continue reading Fall Season

Battle Strategy for Victory!!

And at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. Joshua 6:16 It’s a rather familiar story, the Israelites were beginning the process of taking over the Promised Land. They weren’t trained for battle but God devised a plan that required three things of them – walk around the city, keep your mouth shut and at the appointed time let out a shout! The appointed time for the shout was before the walls came down, not after! They were used to walking having spent years in the … Continue reading Battle Strategy for Victory!!