How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the...
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.Proverbs 4:23 (ESV) I stared at my broken *Lladro figurine. It was a gift from the women in the enrichment hour I facilitated in the 1990’s at Scottsdale Bible Church. A cleaning lady had...
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of...
How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my...
“Does He not see my ways and number all my steps?”Job 31:4 (NASB) Among the tribes in Northern Natal in South Africa, the tribes greet each other with an equivalent to “hello.” It is the phrase “Sawu bona” which means “I see you.” If you are a member of the tribe you...
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.Colossians 4:6 (ESV) I grew up in an era when the parenting philosophy was children should be seen and not heard. Unlike many idioms in English, the...
And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.”Philippians 4:15 (ESV) Ask anyone who works with RSVP’s and they will tell you that you...
A faithful man will abound with blessings.Proverbs 28:20 (ESV) Along with evident blessings bestowed by God on faithful men and women, there are also disguised blessings—blessings that unexpectedly arrive wrapped in counter-intuitive circumstances. Over the years I...
As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among young men.Song of Solomon 2:3a (ESV) Because I have teenage granddaughters, I wrote this piece to help them know what to look for in a relationship. It warms my heart each time I review it. I hope...
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another…Colossians 3:12-13 (ESV) If you are not familiar with pilot lights, here is a brief explanation: a pilot light is a small...
We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been...
And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in the manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.Luke 2:7 ESV Spoken word is a performance art. Unlike written poetry it has less to do with aesthetics on the page...