Intentional Encouragement

     My wife has recently been undergoing some medical issues, including numerous trips to have blood drawn, several trips to a doctor's office, a "procedure" in a hospital operating room, and finally (3 days ago), surgery.  According to friends who have had a similar surgery, and her doctor, she can expect full recovery after a week or so of rest home and a month or two of generally feeling weary and tiring easily.  I'm thankful that all appears to be well and this will soon be a memory for Jodi.      As always; the doctors came with thorough information including the "possibilities."  It could have been "this or that." "All surgery has potential complications such as..." The likelihood of _____ is small, but I am required to mention it to you."  Jodi signed all the papers dutifully and was wheeled away for her surgery.  It's all so common that we simply come to expect that everything will be "fine."  And it no...

     It has been 3 weeks since I preached my last sermon at our church in Newport News, VA.  God gave us 9 years of ministry there; more than any place we had been previously.  I am grateful for all that he accomplished while we were there and for all that he did in our hearts during that time as well.  When we came; our oldest daughter was 16 and just learning how to drive.  Now she (almost finished with grad school) and her sister (a couple of years out of college) are sharing an apartment about 10 miles from us.  Their brother (the oldest of 2) is a senior at Liberty University, studying for the ministry.  The youngest is now 18.  Since he is special needs, we will have the ongoing joy of caring for him for many years to come.       A couple of weeks ago, I blogged some of the thoughts from what would be my closing sermon to our church family.  It was a sermon about faith; stepping out when you...

     Those of you familiar with our situation right now know that we have purposely put ourselves in a position where we will be in trouble if God doesn't come through.  That's a rough quote from a statement made by Francis Chan that I got from a friend a few weeks ago.  I'm still mulling over those words and have found myself enlivened and refreshed by their challenge.  It's funny how we see things more often when we are consciously thinking about them.  I was reading this morning from 1 Kings 17 about Elijah the prophet of God.  He was singularly used of God in a dramatic way.  He prayed and it stopped raining...for 3 years.  He prayed again and it rained.  He prayed and God raised a young man from the dead.  God did some incredible things through Elijah.      This morning I read the account of the widow that Elijah stopped to visit in the little town of Zarephath.  You're probably familiar with...

            I read the above statement in a daily devotional I received via email and it caught me a little off guard.   The full statement is even more powerful: “The simple rule of a successful life is this: Love God and stop worrying” (Italics mine).             The thought comes from Psalm 145:20 which says, in part: “The L ord watches over all who love him…” (NIV) There is great truth here.   Consider a couple of things.             Not everyone really loves God.   Most people who believe that there is a God would say they probably love him to some degree or another.   But to love God is to obey him; to submit to him; to honor him.   We would never convince anyone that we really loved our spouse if we didn’t talk with them very often or if we ignored their interests and desires.   The ...

      "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.  Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock."  Isaiah 26:3, 4      I like Little Caesar’s Pizza. It’s not so much because it’s the best pizza that I’ve ever tasted (though I like it). It’s more because I can run by and pick up a couple of pies on the way home; it’s convenient and doesn’t cost me much.      I remember when the chain really became popular years ago. The “Pizza! Pizza!” slogan was huge. It was a great new concept. Buy one pizza; get the second one free. They used to come in long, thin, white bags on a sheet of cardboard. You don’t get the second pizza for free any more, but they are still less expensive than most and pretty tasty.      The promise in Isaiah 26 that I quoted earlier is that those who are stayed on God; who keep their trust completely in the Lord will ex...

      I realize that the New Year is already a couple of weeks old, but I thought I'd share some thoughts with you about the importance of starting well.  I’d like to talk to you about good beginnings .   No matter how good the book is, if the beginning doesn’t start out "good," you are not likely to stick with it for the duration.   If the plot doesn’t look interesting in the teaser, you aren’t likely to spend your time watching the entire movie.   Even news casts have commercials to tell us what they will be talking about that evening.   Everyone wants to attract our attention at the beginning, so that we will pay attention through to the finish.      It is the beginning of another year and I believe that God wants your attention.   Possibly there have been some previews that He has shown you regarding this coming year.   Maybe they are exciting; you’re getting married…you’re going to become a grandparent...

As a pastor I have sat with numerous people in hospital waiting rooms .  Sometimes it is a serious threat to life.  Sometimes it is a major question mark about the direction this could lead.  Many times everything "turns out fine."  Sometimes, the news is devastating.  Regardless, the waiting room is one of the most frustrating places to be.  Nothing can be done.  We have now power to accomplish anything for the situation.  We have to wait on those who can do something to do their thing.  So we wait...and pace a little...and go get another cup of coffee.  We want to be able to DO something.  But we can't. At other times, the waiting room is more of an emotional space where you sit in anxious anticipation; wondering what the outcome of a particular situation is going to mean for you.  Sometimes it is the waiting room of a difficult relationship.  We find ourselves there when we are in a job search and when we are in a j...

             I saw that saying on a billboard and chuckled to myself as I thought about the incongruity of it.   But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it contains some element of truth pertinent to our lives.   I hear more and more people talking about how busy their lives are.   “I had two meetings this morning, a working lunch, and a mandatory division meeting after work...”   You know how it goes.   The pace of life seems to quicken with the passing of each year.             Sometimes it is just the nature of our day.   You’ve had those “busywork” days when you were active and constantly in motion but got to the end of the day without a lot of concrete results.   Even church life can get crazy.   D o you remember when summer was “down time?”   Those days are gone.   Summer camps, mission trips, squeezing in a family “vacation...