Finding Food
Read: Micah 4:1-5 Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD . . . that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. (v. 2) I put a finch feeder on a tree branch. Disappointed that the goldfinch never came to feed, I moved the feeder […]
Scripture Fertilizer
Read: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (v. 5 KJV) The calla lilies were not blooming, and the leaves were shriveling. Likewise, the green pepper plants were not blooming. In contrast, the tomatoes were tall with an abundance of tiny tomatoes. […]
Hiding Place
Read: Psalm 32:6-8 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble. (v. 7) Growing up on a dairy farm, I used to go to the pasture to bring cows up to the barn. Along the way was a row of silver maple trees, and one had a large hole in the […]
Sprinkling the Fragrance of Love
Read: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. (v. 14) My grandmother gave me an apothecary jar of pickling spices, telling me the fragrant spices would help me remember times we had together […]
The Final Word
Read: Joshua 23:14-16 Not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised. (v. 14) As Joshua neared the end of life, he offered one last message to the young leaders of Israel. He could remember life as a slave in Egypt before Passover, and while he had faith […]
The Main Event
Read: Acts 24:1-21 Other than this one thing that I cried out. (v. 21) Paul’s accusers called him a plague, a rioter, a cult ringleader, and a profaner of the temple. Not one charge rang true though, and they knew it. But if they could paint Paul as a troublemaker, Felix would snuff him out. […]
Seeing Is Believing
Read: John 9:1-25 One thing I do know. (v. 25) Amid the whirlwind of questions, assumptions, and accusations, a man born blind received his sight. People in the text fixated on what they knew or wanted to know. The disciples wanted to know whose sin caused his blindness (v. 2). Neighbors wanted to know how […]
Live without a Rearview Mirror
Read: Philippians 3:12-21 One thing I do. (v. 13) The first time I drove a box truck, I asked my boss why there was no rearview mirror. He laughed, “Because there is no rear window. Don’t look back.” Of course! As I drove that summer, the mirror’s absence became an illustration of Paul’s words “forgetting […]
An Incomplete Life
Read: Mark 10:17-22 You lack one thing. (v. 21) The rich young man reminds me of myself in too many college classes when I would ask, “Professor, is this going to be on the test?” I wanted the A, and often got it, but missed the learning that came from studying the subject. This young […]