Sweet

"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Ps. 119:103)

Truth is I don't have that much of a sweet tooth.  But most of us can relate to the desire for something sweet. How challenging that God's word can and should have such appeal!

Wait For Me!

I struggled to decide whether to call this "Two's company, three's a crowd" (as my grandma often said) or the title I ended up with.  Something in this photo makes me think the trailing member of this Lima Lima Flight Team (based in nearby Naperville) is struggling to keep up. 

I guess there are times we all feel we're pushing hard just to keep pace.  Ironically, the answer is often not to push harder but to slow down enough to make sure our efforts are effective and focused on the important things.

Pleasant Lines

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. (Psalm 16:6)

Some boundaries are more obvious than others and we don't always appreciate them, at least initially.  Then life brings experiences where we realize the lines we didn't fully understand have value after all.  David's expression in this Psalm seems clear that he learned to be thankful, even to exult, in the good heritage of clearly defined boundary lines.  It's a heritage I likewise share and for which I am deeply grateful.

Who Makes the Ice?

"Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?" (Job 38:29)

Another offering from that impressive response from God to Job.  We awoke this past Sunday to this view from the warm home of some dear friends.  Glory to God!

Buds of Hope

"For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."
(Isaiah 61:11)

It's a little early to "think spring" but I can't help it during this blustery January in the Midwest!  It's a comfort to know that the buds that will spring forth are hiding beneath the snow.  A good thing to remember when life gets dreary and bleak -- the seeds of better days are there, though hidden for now.

Span of Heaven

"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" (Isaiah 40:12)

It's a good question.  I remember one of the first times flying in an airliner as a kid, seeing the "span" of the heavens stretching along the horizon, and pondering the vastness of creation. Who but God has measured out the span of heaven?

Little Help

This Boeing 737-700 is a technologically advanced airplane, capable of carrying 140 passengers over 3500 miles at speeds approaching 500 mph.  Yet it relies on a couple of guys in a tug to push it back from the gate to a position where it can taxi by itself.  (Sure, it could deploy its thrust reversers at the gate but probably not without blowing the glass out of the terminal windows!)

The Bible has many references to help us understand how much we need each other; even the "strongest" among us.  One of my favorites is from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken"

It's OK to ask for help--we need each other!

Hast Thou Commanded?

"Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place?" (Job 38:12)

To say that Job of old was tested is putting it mildly.  The list of things he withstood is beyond the scope of this writing.  Yet in all of it he "charged God not foolishly", spoke of his knowledge that his redeemer lives and will stand in the latter day, yielded to the testing as of gold by fire.  And so on.  Still, he questioned God and wished he'd never been born. 

God's response, starting in Job 38 is eloquent and thundering in its opening question, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"  Among the many things God asked Job in order to make it clear Who was Sovereign and who was not, was the question above.  In our language; So, Job, do you command the sun to spring forth each day?  Or you, Brad?  Or you?

Merry Christmas!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

His Eye is on the Sparrow

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
("His Eye is On the Sparrow" -- Charles H. Gabriel)

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?" (Luke 12:6)

Yes, Jesus made a point of telling us that God sees every sparrow that falls and even knows the number of hairs on our heads.  So why should I feel discouraged?  Forgive us (me) for our lack of faith.