Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."John 1:1-4,14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made. Without him nothing was made that has been made. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who c...  Read More

One of the most powerful examples of right behavior in the face of our enemies was given by David before he became king. King Saul was trying to kill him- literally hunting him down with thousands of highly trained soldiers. David was not only a loyal and faithful soldier- he was married to Saul's daughter and was best friends with Saul's son. Though he had done nothing wrong, day after day, week ...  Read More

Psalm 23 says, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."  Have you ever considered why, for a child of God, this is the valley of the SHADOW of death? There can only be a shadow when LIGHT is present. Jesus is that light. John 1:1-9, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through ...  Read More

Hours of heavy rain melted the last of the winter ice off the pond in front of my cabin. This morning the water is utterly still. It's as though the sheet of ice that covered it yesterday was never there. It was simply washed away. This is the way that God deals with a Christian's sins. They have been washed away by the blood of Christ. The past is gone. The evidence is gone."If anyone is in Chris...  Read More

These long daylight hours are something I've hungered for. Don't get me wrong, there's something special about wearing a headlamp in the early morning darkness while climbing a mountain, but the ability to SEE adds layers of enjoyment to being outside. Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and SEE that the Lord is good. Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." Our senses are incredible gifts. As I stood in ...  Read More

When God tells us in Ephesians 5:18 to "be filled with the Holy Spirit," we see that you and I have an active part to play in this 'filling.' More than that, it is a continuous tense verb that would be better read, "Be being filled," or, "Keep on being filled." This is not automatic. Many things will hinder this filling- this outpouring of God's Spirit into your life. Coarse language, unkind speec...  Read More

King David, before he was king, became best friends with Saul's son, Jonathan. In fact, they were much closer than friends. In today's terms we might call them 'blood brothers'- men who shared the same heart and who would willingly die for each other. What knit them together? As we read the account of Jonathan and his armor-bearer scaling a tower to attack the enemy on top, we see that Jonathan ha...  Read More

I've always taken my weather cues from Tigger, who said, "Rain, rain, go away. Come again on some other guy!" I prefer a world where the sun always shines and plants are watered from dew and beautiful springs coming up from the ground. But then, we don't always get what we want, do we? The beautiful thing about growing closer to Christ is that he changes what we want.When we CHOOSE to make life ab...  Read More

God said, "Don't be afraid. I will rescue you." Sometimes we need a rescue, don't we? Yesterday mine included a dead machine in the middle of the wilderness, a call for help from a good friend who 'just happened' to be near, an ATV, a chainsaw, two tow ropes, a truck, and a 6 mile tow out. If my friend hadn't been there (100 miles from his home) my machine would still be out there.If I hadn't haul...  Read More

I've been waking up sleeping muscles- hibernating might be more accurate. Actually, I should say that many of my muscles have been in a 'self-induced coma.' I've spent a few days doing hard physical labor. Now I hurt almost everywhere. It's not the "I'm injured" kind of hurt. It's the "you better start working out" kind of hurt.I think I learned in science that 'an object at rest tends to stay at ...  Read More

I pulled to a stop and began pulling out my driver's license as the police officer parked behind me. Adding to the humiliation of the flashing lights was the fact that in a small town virtually every car that went by knew me. Suddenly- just like that- my circumstances changed. The policeman stepped on the gas and went roaring past me, shaking his finger at me as he went by. He'd gotten called to s...  Read More

I was a junior in high school when I intentionally 'rolled through' a stop sign in my small town. I said to my brother John, "I didn't see that stop sign, did you?" He said, "Nope. And I hope that cop behind us didn't see it either." In that moment, flashing lights and a siren started up behind me. I went from prideful to humble in less than a second. I bought my own car and paid my own insurance,...  Read More