Last week someone sent me a link to a YouTube video called, “Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?” While the video points fingers at ostentatious preachers, it is also a good example of the excessive nature in our culture. That’s scary because...

I've had a hard time relating to “I know you are thirsty,” words from a worship song popular in the 1970s. I was raised and lived in water-soaked Oregon for most of my life...

Most of you know I love working with clay. After I discovered the artist’s studio here last fall, I started out strong with some definite ideas, but then the well dried up. Now what? One day at the studio, I panicked when I couldn’t decide on a next project. What will the other students think of me if I come up with something stupid? They are all doing professional work. I scrambled through art books looking for inspiration...

Do you need peace today? A few thoughts from Oswald Chambers...

When you were under the fig tree, I saw you —John 1:48...I wonder, “What does my ‘private fig-tree life’ look like?"

Sometimes I hear people say, “God always keeps His promises.” As a matter of fact, I have written those very words in one of my blog posts. The question always comes to my mind, “What promises?”

It felt like someone poured a gallon of ice water on my head. Time to wake up! Take stock!...

Have you ever been passionate about a situation that seemed to have no resolution, so passionate that it brought you to tears? Have you ever felt that passionate about the Lord? Have you ever cried out to the Lord, “How long, Lord?” As I was praying about this, I came across a story...

My childhood friends and I used to play a guessing game with daisies, “He loves me, he loves me not,” pulling off a petal with each repetition. Sometimes we tore apart a dozen daises before we got a “verdict” to our liking – a very self-centered game and sad fate for the daisies now that I think about it! For those who put their faith and trust in Christ, the “verdict” is secure...

Do you not know that . . . you are not your own?” —1 Corinthians 6:19. I have been pondering these words for many months. What does it mean, “You are not your own” when it comes down to the “brass tacks” of living our day to day life? Oswald Chambers said there is no such thing as a private life, but in our western society it is all about "my right to chose" and the "American Dream." * Our western mindset can’t fathom a life without “independence.” Even in Christian circles, “the American dream” has been dressed up as “fulfilling your destiny.” In contrast, the Apostle Paul wrote about being a “bondslave” of Christ (Rom. 1:1). It is difficult for me to wrap my mind around the word “bondslave.” However, if I think of being set free from some deadly fate (sin), then I can throw myself totally at the mercy of the One who saved me, Jesus Christ… but there is more. Life in Christ does not stop here.

Have you ever had anyone tell you, “God needs to be first in your life”? This may shock you, but I have a problem with this statement. For me, God is everything, not just first!

Nicky Gumbel asks a penetrating question, “Have you ever wondered whether God is really interested in the details of your life?”* When things don’t go as planned, it is tempting to ask, “God, don’t you see what is happening?” Martha is a great example, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?" Hosting large groups, I can sympathize with Martha. No doubt, she wanted everything to be just right for her guests. You may have been waiting for a long time for a house to sell, but so far no one is interested; a job interview didn’t produce the results you had hoped for; you may be distraught over a recent medical report; or an event didn’t take place as planned. You may be like Martha, feeling you are the only one serving. Does God care? Yes? How do we know?

"Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" ( Matthew 6:8 ). Then why should you ask? So that you may get to know Him (Oswald Chambers, Utmost for His Highest, April 27). “So that you may get to know Him”…Have you ever prayed, “God, help me get to know you today”? When I really think about it, I have to ask myself, this an honest prayer? Do I really want to know God?

It’s time for new eyeglasses! This morning as I adjusted the font size of my e-mail messages so I wouldn’t have to strain my eyes, I wondered how I could find an optometrist, considering I don’t speak the local language. I thought about putting out a request on an e-mail message board that I subscribe to, but instead I reached for my daily devotional. Today’s reading started out with these words, “ ‘. . . the Lord Jesus . . . has sent me that you may receive your sight . . . —Acts 9:17’…

Today I worked on a photograph collection stored on my computer. As I cropped a photograph of a mother and her baby, cutting away the dark corners and unnecessary objects in the background, the subjects of my picture came into sharper focus. As a result, the mother and baby no longer appeared distant but suddenly sprang to life. I felt I could reach out and touch them!

This past Christmas I read a message in which the writer said all he wanted for Christmas was a gift of wonder… “that invites us to 'Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices.'”(1) It got me to thinking, “What do I want for the New Year?” What about you? What do you want for the New Year? Sometimes when I see an image or a word of scripture that strikes a chord deep in my heart, I utter a prayer of thanksgiving for what God has done, is doing or is able to do. Time passes. I see the image or word again or circumstances arise that seem to contradict what I am hoping for…