Thanksgiving

...now browsing by tag

 
Bible/Scripture Choices Christian Living Christmas Church Death Faith/Feelings Forgiveness Friendship Generosity God God's Plan God's Word Grace Humility Jesus Kindness Leadership Lifestyle Love Mercy Ministry Miscellaneous Opinion Parenting Perseverance Prayer Preaching Questions Quiet Time Reflection Resurrection Salvation Scripture look Second Coming Seeking Sin Speech Story Suffering Surrender Thanksgiving Trials Truth Telling Worship
 

May 19

Thursday, May 19th, 2022

Do I call Revelation 15 the song of the saints or the calm before the storm? For this devotion, let’s go with both for that is what it is. Chapter 16 unleashes the bowls of wrath and Armageddon (I looked at the headings preceding the paragraphs. I have yet to read it).  🙂 But rather than try to put my stamp of interpretation of chapter 15, let’s just meditate on the song in verses 3-4. I wish I was a musician who could sit down and put this into song. What a powerful praise song it would be. But since I’m not…

Just a couple thoughts/highlights of chapter 15:

1. God’s works are great and marvelous.

2. His ways are righteous and true.

3. We will fear (adore, honor, worship) the Lord and glorify His Name.

4. God’s righteousness will bring worship from all people.

The consummation of this worship was the majesty and glory and power which filled the temple (not earthly but heavenly). The angels were being prepared for what was to come.

“Father, may my praise fill the temple. May my praise be that which flows from my heart of adoration to You, the One worthy of it.”

Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , ,

Just a Word

Thursday, November 25th, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I know I don’t have many readers…at least many who comment.  Strange as it may seem I don’t really do this devotional blog for you all. I do it for myself. I love the early morning Encounter Time I have with Jesus and this blog is my journal entry which everyone can see. I need the discipline which comes with daily journaling.

I’ve made some adjustments lately. My day off is Friday. Lately God has gotten my attention-not by drastic measures but my reading and listening-that I need to honor that day off. I still have my Encounter Time but have decided to refrain from writing in my journal and posting it here. That is what I do all week long and a true sabbatical (day off) is NOT DOING what I do all week long.

All that to say: unless I am especially “inspired and led” to do so, I will not be posting on Friday, in fact, the whole weekend. I direct you to my other blog for a weekend post about my sermon for Sunday.  I usually do that on Thursday some time. I will approve and respond to any comments, of course, but I think it is wise for me to take some prolonged time away from the computer.

I’m going to continue with my “Shadow” blog into 2022. I love having you join me and would love it if you would bring some friends along with you. Not the four-legged kind, but some of the two-legged ones.  My dream is this would reach more folks. Of course, it would help if I was on social media but that “ain’t going to happen.”  I refuse to support blatant bias.

Again, I hope you have a grateful Thanksgiving Day. If you read this after the fact, I hope you had a blessed day.  Thanks for reading.

Posted in InTheShadow | 4 Responses »
Tags: , ,

November 9

Tuesday, November 9th, 2021

Today is a random day, a day of collection of random thoughts. I hope one of them knocks on your day today and says, “This is for you.”

Reading from Acts 18 this morning made me see more and more how much of a lightning rod the Apostle Paul was. But very valuable lessons emerge from that chapter:

  • Paul was committed to preaching about Jesus. He set up shop as a tent maker, serving his way in Corinth. But when Silas and Timothy showed up, he let them handle that side of things and he “devoted himself completely to the word.” (verse 5). Even in the midst of our long day, our faith should take precedence.
  • Even Paul realized there are times when ears will be closed and hearts will be hard. (verse 6).  When that happened, he shook off the dust of the Jews and committed to telling the Gospel to the Gentiles. As hard as it is at the time, we too must realize words are no longer heard. We are done. Not done praying, but done prodding and pleading. 

Psalm 141:3 ought to be the life verse for some people, especially me. Speaking first and thinking later is all too common. I need a gatekeeper.

Finally, I spent last night with a friend. Jo and I made a short 30-45 minute jaunt to a friend’s house. We laughed. Ate Mexican. Visited. Worked on a new banner for my 2022 sermon theme. And got home past my bedtime. But some  things are worth it! Spending time with a friend is one of those. Thanks Ryan, Amanda, and Aleah (their 20 y/o daughter whom we have known since she was about 6).  Yeah, time flies when you are having fun. 🙂  Oh, I forgot Findlay, their dog, who was there to greet us. The Bible speaks of the gift of friendship. I can only say, “Amen.”

“Father, somewhere, somehow my day will be touched by one of these. May I be able to recognize it.”

{NOTE: Along with three other men from OVCF, I will be attending a one-day conference sponsored by 95 Network, a network dedicated to helping and encouraging pastors and leaders of small churches.  I will respond to any comments as soon as I am able}.

Posted in InTheShadow | 6 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , ,

November 1

Monday, November 1st, 2021

The past week or two (or is that year or two?) has brought about the endless parade…wait for it…Hallmark Channel Christmas movies. Tragically, I’m caught up in that cycle as well, because if I want to spend time with Jo when I get home, I am forced to sit in my recliner and watch them with her.

Whatever can be said of those movies-and a lot could be said (good and bad)-one word stands out: P.R.E.D.I.C.T.A.B.L.E. I have learned though that the best thing I can do is keep my mouth shut. Don’t comment. Don’t predict. Due to a heart issue, Tami has had to stay with us and even she has gotten into the act (of predicting).

November begins the approach to two of the favorite holidays-Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m not telling you anything new with that revelation. 🙂 They say that thanks to inflation this will be the most expensive dinner on record. And due to the supply chain crisis, this may be the most empty-shelved Christmas on record.

I could say all sorts of things politically but I won’t. Instead, let me say this: rather than bemoan those facts, why not pivot? Why not take a different approach? I’m not advocating doing away with with either of the holidays, but why not redirect them? Why not fix the Thanksgiving dinner but go easier? (I’m fine without pumpkin pie and anything cinnamon by the way). How about inviting others to share it with you? Why not have a pitch-in capped off with a time of gratitude? As for Christmas, why not go a little easy on the expensive gifts and stick to a more personal offering? A coupon book of monthly outings. A monthly commitment to send a gift to a ministry in someone’s honor? And here is something novel! Why not truly focus on the gift of Jesus?

Let’s use today as an on-ramp to new joy, new focus, new direction, and a new relationship with Jesus?

“Father, focus me on You. May these next two months be truly remarkable in my walk with You and the depth that is developed.”

My blogging friend, Martha, is having some serious and painful gum surgery today. Would you please say a prayer for her when you read this? Thanks.

Posted in InTheShadow | 6 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , ,

October 27

Wednesday, October 27th, 2021

So here I am early in the morning. Earlier than usual that is. I didn’t sleep well. I’m thinking several things played into that…nothing specific I can put my finger on. I did receive a steroid shot in my knee so that played into it I’m sure. Plus I have some things on my mind. Not worry but some decisions which need to be made. Nothing bad or serious…they are just there (if you know what I mean).

Anyway, God in His inimitable way comes when and where needed. The book of Jeremiah records Jeremiah’s struggles; Lamentations his anguish over the nation of Judah’s stubborn refusal to follow God. And yet, in his darkest hour, he writes these great words:

I recall this to my mind, Therefore I wait. The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, For His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Lam.3:21-23

Then I read Psalm 119:156:

Great are Your mercies, Lord; Revive me according to Your judgments.”  (I finished a week in Psalm 119 this morning)

New every morning. Great is His faithfulness. Can there be any words or thought richer; more packed with meaning; more promising of hope; more overwhelming with love that those? I think one would be hard-pressed to find them.

So even though I’m sure fatigue will hit sometime today, I am “revived” (as the psalmist puts it) by the promise of God’s new morning mercies.

“Father, thank you. They are the only words I can find to say right now.”

All Scripture from NASB2020.

Posted in InTheShadow | 4 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , ,

September 22

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021

First day of Fall! I don’t know whether to cry or to cry. 🙂  Yeah, I’m a warm weather person. Sort of hard to ride a bike with snow and ice on the ground. Anyway, right now we are in our 3rd of 40 days of rain. On the positive side, least it is liquid sunshine not white flakes. Okay…on to the devotion.

The dictionary defines hero as “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”

We hear a lot of talk these days about heroes. For the past year and a half we have been hearing about the front line workers who are heroes. Nurses. Police. Fire. Doctors. In my mind, they are heroes. Sadly, their heroism is being brushed aside and forgotten because of the vaxx mandate.  I will withhold comment.  🙂

I grew up with heroes. Comic books. TV shows. Athletes. Just like every other kid I had my favorites. Over the past decade the idea of a hero-a superhero- has been taken to a whole new level thanks to cinema.  Superman became Spiderman. Spiderman was soon enveloped by the Marvel universe of Iron Man, Captain America, The Avengers, and others. Batman rose from the comic book dead. Spiderman came back to life. Jason Bourne lived through mind games and countless fights and car chases to walk away each movie. The list goes on.

I think we need to stop looking to fantasy for our heroes and see them right next to us. They live with us. They work with us. They worship with us. They play alongside us. They are the mom and dad who love their handicapped child as though he/she is “normal.” They are the old man/lady who do their best to care for their mate who doesn’t even remember their name anymore. I recently read of a woman who took care of her former soccer-playing comatose husband for decades. She is a hero.

“Heroes come in every age and size,” Bob Goff writes. (#264-p.313). I’ve always believed that. I’m convinced, while we focus on the few who have prominent names, there are literally hundreds of thousands who go unnamed and unnoticed.

Heroes don’t wear capes (unless it is a dad playing “house” with his daughter). They don’t wear tights and have indestructible shields, and superhuman abilities to leap tall buildings. No…heroes are ordinary people doing ordinary things on ordinary days in extraordinary ways. Be a hero. Better yet…acknowledge one.

“Father, may I recognize a hero and not let him or her go unnoticed.”

Posted in InTheShadow | 4 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

September 17

Friday, September 17th, 2021

3 chapters. 3 passages.

I’ve been reading through Psalms again-my second time this year. I’m using a different translation this time through-one I am getting more familiar with and have really grown to love. The NASB2020. But the translation really is unimportant to the weight and import of these 3 passages.

“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy.” (Psalm 61:2b-3a)

“My soul waits in silence for God alone; From Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 62: 1-2)  {Note: for an added bonus read verses 5-8}

“God, You are my God; I shall be watching for You; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and exhausted land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

These verses came home to me recently as I was visiting with someone. This man’s life had been controlled by alcohol and at the ripe young age of 67, he came to know Jesus as his Savior. He is now 78 and has not had a drink in all those years. He speaks of being in the muck and being pulled out in his former job (he is retired) with a major pipeline. His reference to Psalm 69 was so refreshing because he was able to make a great application with it. And he also spoke of how Jesus did that for him. He now stands on the Rock-Jesus-his refuge and strength. What a refreshing visit it was!  May his tribe increase!!

May my heart be as tender to God’s help and saving grace as his.

“Father, You are my strength. My rock. My refuge. May I always acknowledge that and live that.”

Posted in InTheShadow | 6 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , ,

September 11

Friday, September 10th, 2021

I am posting this a day early.  I will be participating in a 9/11 memorial in my town of Spencer. It will also serve as a memorial to one of our own, Brett Wood, who lost his life in Afghanistan 10 years ago yesterday. Here are my thoughts:

Even writing those words-that date- brings back haunting memories.

Planes hitting two towers. Papers falling. People dying.  Metal crumbling. Layers of smoke and dust and debris in the air and on people and cars. People digging. American flag waving on site, almost like a guardian and inspiration.

“Let’s roll.” Brave passengers. Todd Beamer. Rumors of the plane headed to the White House.  An empty field. Plane crashed. Crisis averted. Lives lost.

Pentagon. The “seat” of military power. A symbol of military might and genius. The hub of decisions. Fiery death. Walls breached.

A nation united against evil. For once. “God Bless America” sung by political rivals. A common enemy. Swift action. Swift reprisal. Manhunt. Finally got him (them).

9/11…Never forget. This is not a matter of forgiveness. This is a matter of remembering the fallen.  As of today, there are just under 3000 innocent lives gone.  Heroes who rushed burning buildings. People who went to work that day not having a clue. Some of them I will see someday. Some, sadly, thought they had more time. And a few consigned to hell where their vestal virgins do not await. Only tongues of fire.

Matthew 26…Never forget. A memorial feast set aside for a Savior to never be forgotten.  Paying the ultimate price. For me. For you.

LEST WE FORGET

“Father, the memories are fresh as flashbacks occur on this 20th anniversary of evil’s destruction. Thank You for Your faithfulness through it all. Giving hope and life to so many. And thank You for the cross. Help me to never forget.”

Posted in InTheShadow | 6 Responses »
Tags: , , , ,

June 25

Friday, June 25th, 2021

I want to help you to finish your week on a high note. I have a story to tell you that I believe will do that. It will also tell you and show you that we serve a phenomenally, awesome God. Here is the story:

Backstory first: We have been praying for a young man in our church fellowship named Robert Herrington for the past month or so. A month to the day on Sunday, Robert was lifting weights and sat up on the bench and hit his head. Not much. Didn’t hurt. He came home for the summer that same day and began preparing for summer boot camp (he is in a college ROTC program). He slept that next day because he was so tired and two days later began to stutter. Badly. Test after test showed no brain injury, except a concussion. But the stuttering continued. He lost strength (he was a weight-lifter). He lost cognitive ability and memory. And he wanted to sleep. A lot. The specialists told him it could be anywhere from 6 months to a year before he stopped stuttering and got relief for the other symptoms. His outlook has been to trust God because He knows what He is doing. I admire a 20 year old with that kind of trust. Anyway, he came to church this past Sunday still stuttering.  I mentioned him during our prayer time and prayed for God to intervene and astound the doctors. Sunday afternoon he, and his sister, Abigail, were driving somewhere and he talked to her in his stutter. The next sentence out of his mouth had no stutter and he has not done so since then!  IS THAT NOT AWESOME?  I don’t use that word except to describe God or something He has done. When I visited with Robert and his family on Monday I did not know what had happened until I came face to face with him and he spoke to me. I said, “Hey! You aren’t stuttering!” They could not stop talking about God’s intervention and goodness. But according to Abigail there was a downside to it all. Robert never stopped talking for 45 minutes after that!  Doesn’t that sound just like a sister?  I love the banter. But more, I love that they are giving all the glory to God. He still has a way to go on some of the other symptoms from the concussion, but Robert told the doctor that the others will eventually go away but “at least I can talk.”  🙂

What a fantastic story to finish the week with don’t you think? And what a way to go into worship this weekend. Let that story encourage you that no problem is beyond His purview; no glitch is beyond His fixing; no obstacle is too big for Him to have it come crashing down.

“Thank you Father that you are still a God who performs miracles and astounds us with Your way. Wake us all up to Your majesty and power.”

Note: I wrote this on Wednesday and posted it for today. I wanted to encourage you. We will be on our way back from Ohio today so prayers would be appreciated, especially since I am in a rental vehicle due to the accident.

Posted in InTheShadow | 6 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , ,

June 16

Wednesday, June 16th, 2021

I am going to take today’s “devotion day” off.  I know you are disappointed. I can hear your tears from here.  (I can dream can’t I?)

I have a good reason though. Sometimes I write a devotion that very morning and post it.  Sometimes I write and work a day or even two days ahead.  Today…I’m a slacker. But I have a good reason to be.

Today I have the honor of celebrating my 48th year with Jo as my wife.  Questions abound:

You mean she put up with you that long?

You mean she stuck around with you during all those moves?

You mean she stayed with you even with all your quirks (her words) and strong points (my words)?

The answer to all of those is Y.E.S.  Believe it or not the answer is a big fat YES.

Like all couples we were naive enough to think it was going to be all good.  I’m here to tell you honestly…it was not. But we never gave up. The “D” word never crossed our lips.  We never have had a fight. (She is a lousy fighter and arguing with a brick wall is no fun at all).

Instead, we had a lot of quiet nights and lousy sleep until we decided to hash it out lovingly. We talked about it. Cried with each other.  But never raised our voice with each other. Some might say that is not good.  But you have to know Jo. She is not very excitable (except at ball games).

We spent and spend a lot of time together…and still like each other. Go figure! And there is no one else I ‘d rather be with.  There are some things we do together. (Get your mind out of the gutter folks).  We like to eat out. We like to visit with friends. We love going to Ohio and supporting Janna and Braden, our grandson. We love Tami and are so proud of what she has become and who she is.

There are also some things we don’t do together.  I ride a bike. I work out at the Y. She does not do either. She hates exercise. I love it.

I am blessed. She does all my sermons for me on Power Point. She knows where I am going to go with a point she has done it so often. Although…I have been known to throw here a curveball every now and then.  We took our first “our couple” trip to Florida in 2017 because someone gifted us with it. It was the first time we went somewhere and knew no one. The in 2019 the church blessed us with a dream trip to Alaska to celebrate my 45 years as an “official” pastor.  I was ordained April 13, 1975 but had actually been a pastor in a church before that.  I started preaching in 1972. I am not ashamed to admit I would love to go back to Alaska. We dodged a bullet with that one though. We had almost postponed it until September of 2020. Can anyone say COVID?

Long story short: Today is Jo’s day. Our plans are no plans. The only two things I know are 1) we will eat out somewhere; and 2) we plan to visit our church camp and see Pastor Ryan and the campers from the church around lunch time. 

I have not been the perfect husband. Bet you are surprised. 🙂  But love her I do. And I know she loves me. How long this party will last only the Father knows.  But until then…I look forward to spending more years with Jo. I’d say “I love you honey” but she doesn’t read this and I would hate to think someone reading this would take that wrong.  And yeah…that is another of my quirks. She rolls her eyes a lot at my jokes (if she could roll her eyes. She rolls her head instead).  Okay…I better call it quits before she decides to read this and you end up reading my obituary. 

Have a great day. See you, Lord willing, tomorrow morning. BTW: I wrote this Tuesday afternoon. 

Posted in InTheShadow | 4 Responses »
Tags: , , , ,

« Older Entries