Wait like a Watchman
Psalm 130 A song ofascents. 1 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; 2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. 3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence,...
The Longest Psalm
In my NIV Study Bible, Psalm 119 takes up eight pages. In the original Hebrew, this Psalm is an alphabetic acrostic, with the verses of each stanza beginning with the same letter. It is believed to be written post-exile. The psalmist’s themes throughout include God’s goodness in spite of...
Amazing Grace Filled Road Trips
Once upon a time, on a road trip to see Dennis Jernigan for a New Year’s Eve Night of Praise, my friend Jennifer and I realized between the two of us, we had about 15 variations of the song “Amazing Grace”. We skipped several of these variations, noting the song...
Lessons from Ruth
This book of Ruth is four short chapters rich in content. The account of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges. These chapters could be divided into “seasons” of life. We all go through seasons and stages in life. Some seasons we experience many times. Others we...
Lessons in Judges
If it isn’t obvious by now, I’m enjoying participating in my family’s Bible reading calendar. One thing that consistently amazes me is that you can learn something new each time you read through the Word. I know I’ve completely read through the Bible at least twice – and I’ve...
Lessons from Joshua
This week, in our family’s daily Bible reading, we completed Joshua. Joshua is a book of battles and distribution of lands, of defeated kings and cities, of warning and encouragement. Like Deuteronomy (or any other book of the Bible), there are lessons we can apply in our daily lives....
Lessons from Deuteronomy
The Old Testament. The beginning of time. The fall of man. The flood. The establishment of a promise. Journeys into and out of slavery. The presentation of the Law. Miracles and wonders. The accounts of the first five books of the Bible are rich with history important to all...
Unconditional Bravery
For the past month, I have been a part of a Radiance Project. One of the first exercises involved identifying the fears that hinder success to better overall health (this is not a “get skinny” program, but a holistic health approach – mind, body, soul). As you can read...
Teach your children, Bravely
I am a preacher’s kid and my dad is my favorite preacher. I even have a favorite sermon! As children, my siblings and I referred to it as “the parrot sermon,” because of the illustration. The sermon’s actual title is “Who will teach the children?” using scriptures from the book...
Living in God’s Promises Bravely
Bravery, courage, strength. These traits are rarely about doing what is comfortable or easy. They are most often about overcoming, dealing with a tough situation, making the best out of seemingly impossible circumstances, and continuing to move forward in spite of exhaustion. Weathering the storm builds strength, a strength we...