Just another encouragement to leave a comment when you visit.
Just say “hi”, share a favorite verse, a question about the reading, a joke or a story!
Anything… its just nice to hear from you. Thanks… Norm

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
[Psalm 30:11-12]

Dorothy Pearce is another Jesus-follower that inspires me. Valerie and I met her a few years ago while visiting with Tony and Mary in Haiti. She runs Faith Hope Love Infant Rescue in Port Au Prince, Haiti. This is how her blog describes her work:

A Christian children’s home in Port au Prince Haiti, sometimes called an orphanage but really more of a last hope for poor families. We take malnourished infants into our home, nurse them back to health and return them to their families. We help families learn how to parent better and provide food and medical care for our staff, children and their families. We strive to serve and honor God in all that we do, obeying His commands to love and share with others. Jesus is Lord!

Valerie and I had the opportunity to be with the children there at the time, and it has left a lasting impact on our hearts. Thanks to email updates, we are aware of the joys and challenges that continue for her in her work there, and the opportunities and needs that we can pray about. Check out her blog and, if you feel so led, and are able, please support this effort in any way you can – our prayers are important! Allow Jesus to use your heart and your hands to bless Dorothy and the children!

Next Sunday I am speaking on Psalm 34. The title of this psalm reads: Psalm 34 Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.

You can read the story here. But just note, that in the actual account the king is called Achish. Some explain that ‘abimelech’ is a title for King Achish, as the word means “My Father, the King”. It possible that his title became his name (like Pharoah or Caesar).

That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: ” `Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?” [1 Samuel 21:10-15]

Continue reading ‘“I’ll be mad for my king”’ »

Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back — in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you. — Frederick Buechner

This guy gets to the point, a bit edgy though.
But even though some may not like how he says it, what he says seems valid.
What do you think of his rant?

Wow, what a challenging and convicting video.
An important reminder that children are watching, children are learning.
Reminds me of a prayer in the form of a song I once heard years ago.
It was a Promise Keepers song, a father praying in regards to his son:
“Lord I want to be just like you, cause he wants to be just like me…”

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” [Psalm 27:4]

Does anyone have an idea what it means for David when he says he wants to “gaze upon the beauty of the Lord”?
Since God is invisible, what can he mean?
Unfortunately, this gets more complicated when I think of the word “beauty”, what that words means to us when we say it, and what it means in reference to God.
The Amplified version of this verse expands on David’s words, “to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord”.

The root word in Hebrew includes goodness, favour, pleasantness.
I am thinking that the word might better be translated shining or shimmering goodness, something that is as much felt as it is seen.
I have had moments in prayer when I felt the shimmering goodness of God, that sense of wonder and delight, like looking at the northern lights only infinitely more wonderful.
So what do you think, what might David mean when he speaks of “gazing on the beauty of the Lord”?

The LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. [Psalm 27:1-3]

Is it OK to be afraid sometime, I know I am.
Right now I am not afraid of people, or of getting sick, or of dying, or of being attacked… but I do have this gnawing fear of the ‘what ifs’.
I’ve been chewing over the ‘what ifs’ of failure, if things do not work out like I hope here in Ajax.
I also find my mind dwelling on the negative side of things, assuming the worst about what people are thinking, feeling my inadequacies, my mistakes, my folly.
Thankfully I keep myself going on a steady diet of bible-reading.
Its so good to see that other people struggled with fear… like the disciples (and they were with Jesus!)
And its so good to hear people like David claim that they wouldn’t even be afraid of a vast army charging against him.
Though part of me says, ‘yeah right, sounds good in theory, but if a real army was coming!?’
Somehow I don’t think that David meant that he did not experience fear (other psalms suggest that he did), but that he is choosing to focus on how big God is, not how big the armies are… and that he is choosing to not fear.

It all depends on who we listen to, on what we focus on.
Casting Crowns has a great song called Voice of Truth that I find inspires me, reminding me of whose voice I need to listen to, and whose I need to ignore.
I hope it does the same for you.
Do you struggle with fear? What do you find helpful when facing fears? What bible passages speak the voice of truth to you?

Have you heard this one? It’s made the email rounds before, but it does make you think. Its not only true for going to church, its true for reading the bible, prayer, or any other spiritual exercise. It’s the cumulative effect that counts, that tips the scale in the right direction. (Thanks Trish).

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t  remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and  the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until  someone wrote this clincher:

“I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!