Walking With God

In the movie Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, a college professor befriended a stray Akita puppy named Hachi. The dog expressed his loyalty by waiting at the train station each day for the professor to return from work. One day, the professor suffered a fatal stroke. Hachi waited hours at the train station, and for the next ten years he returned each day—awaiting His loving master. Luke tells the story of a man named Simeon who patiently waited for the coming of his Master …

Is it possible that what we perceive to be relational, emotional, and spiritual problems are actually hearing problems—ears that have been deafened to the voice of God? And it’s that inability to hear His voice that causes us to lose our voice and lose our way. Let me make a bold statement: Learning how to hear the voice of God is the solution to a thousand problems! It’s also the key to discovering our destiny and fulfilling our potential. His voice is.…

Jesus needs to disciple these fishermen, tax collectors, and political revolutionaries who dropped their careers to follow him. I’m not sure we’ve understood the ramifications of his decision. We just think, Oh, yeah, the disciples, and forget what was actually required for them to become apostles. This is going to take a lot of work. There’s no fairy godmother waving her wand here; these pumpkins don’t just turn into coaches. To be a crowd-drawing…

Above all else, guard your heart. We usually hear this with a sense of "Keep an eye on that heart of yours," in the way you'd warn a deputy watching over some dangerous outlaw, or a bad dog the neighbors let run. "Don't let him out of your sight." Having so long believed our hearts are evil, we assume the warning is to keep us out of trouble. So we lock up our hearts and throw away the key and then try to get on with our living. But that isn'…

We just experienced the year's first plowable snowstorm. Not horrendous but enough to get the snowblower out. I proceeded down the driveway with the chute pointing toward the street. With very few cars around I assumed I was safe not to concern myself with a little extra snow on the already packed road surface. I needed to clear the car in my driveway before moving the chute to the left, pointing it into my front yard. A van drove by just as I sprayed the roadway,…

There is never a single moment that you are apart from God. God is in you and with you through every trial, success, victory, and defeat. He is for you and available to you all day, every day. Even in our sin, God remains. Even in our rebellion, God dwells within us. What's left for us to do is learn how to allow this union to permeate every area of our lives. To work out our salvation is to learn to cast aside that which belongs to our former self and live out of our…

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion return to Oz with the broomstick that empowered the Wicked Witch of the West. The Wizard had promised, in return for the broomstick, that he would give the four their deepest desires: a ride home for Dorothy, a brain for the Scarecrow, a heart for the Tin Man, and courage for the Cowardly Lion. But the Wizard stalls and tells them to come back the next day. While they plead with the,…

Few things in life are accomplished by accident, which is why it’s important for us to set specific goals. However, in our planning, we should always seek the Lord’s guidance and not simply aim for our own earthly ambitions. Whenever a new goal comes to mind, we should consider whether it is in line with God’s will. Some topics may be scripturally clear, but many are not, so we must also examine our motives. Are we seeking to please God or ourselves? Are…

Incite – a verb -meaning to move to action: stir up: spur on: urge on – which may or may not imply initiating. This according to Merriam-Webster. We’ve heard a lot over the last week or so about numerous individuals inciting others to carry out violent acts against people and property at the US Capitol. When I contemplated that a bit, I was disturbed by one inconvenient fact. Every person is responsible for their own actions. As a kid my…