"And [Jesus] said, 'The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how.'..." (Mark 4:26-27, RSV). There are friends and family members very dear to me who seem totally indifferent to, …
Cultivating Contentment…
"...I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content." (Psalm 131:2 NIV) The image this verse creates is a striking one: a young child sitting quietly and contentedly on her mother's lap, leaning against her breast. Not a screaming, panic-stricken infant, but …
Happy New Year…
Each January 1st, I remember the final entry of My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers' well known daily devotional book. I just dug it out today and re-read his reflection for December 31st. He writes: "Our present enjoyment of God's grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday's sins and blunders." How …
Asking…
"Ask, and I shall bequeath you the nations..." (Psalm 2:8) This morning, I read this phrase from Psalm 2. While the promise seems to be for the predicted Messiah of Israel, I sensed today that it was being addressed to me... Advent, that season of anticipation, has begun. The world around us gets into high …
Love School is Still in Session…
"Never forget that life is nothing but a growing in love and a preparation for eternity.". Christoph Probst I read this quote this morning. It was in a letter written by a young man to his mother in 1943. He was awaiting execution by the Nazis for the crime of opposing them. It is a …
Unanswered Prayer?…
"Ask, and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks, receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a …
Will Many Be Saved?…
He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many I tell you, will try to enter but will not be able to." Luke 13:24 This section of the Gospel of Luke contains some very challenging sayings of Jesus: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is …
The Key to Peace…
"There is no fear in love, for perfect love drives out fear...". (1 John 4:18). The following excerpt impressed me deeply. For many, a new academic year is beginning, and so perhaps it has special relevance for them, though its truth is timeless: "...to preserve peace, one single thing would suffice: to live by faith, …
Holding Steady…
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV). These short verses pack quite a punch. Each command comprises a verse to itself, so it seems that St Paul, as well as the early Church Fathers who settled on this …
The Yardstick of Love…
"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. …
Lessons From Love School 