“Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence?” – Psalm 139:7  When God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh, we read that Jonah, instead, went to Joppa and boarded a ship to Tarshish. Let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that the minute you decide to walk away from God and the plan He has for your life, you are going to find plenty of ships going in the wrong direction. The Devil’s Travel … Read More

“My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation.” – Psalm 62:1 How at ease are you with silence? Do you have to have a little background noise or media distraction when you are by yourself? Solitude and silence are considered spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith. They are inseparable partners that enable us to surrender control and learn to trust our Heavenly Father, who sees and knows all. So, let me encourage you to spend 10-15 … Read More

“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat – for He grants sleep to those He loves.” – Psalm 127:2 Stress leads to burnout, and burnout often leads to depression. How does that happen? We take on more and more things – more meetings, more activities – that sap our energy and demand our best. We think, “I can handle this, I’ve got it together.” Doctors tell us that stress – not heart disease or … Read More

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life’s span?” – Luke 12:25 Anxiety is like smoke. When anxiety comes into your life, follow it to its source in the way you look for the source of smoke. Anxiety comes when we take something that is good, and we put that in the place of God. We take a good gift from God – our vocation, our children, a hobby – and we make that … Read More

“’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope…’”– Jeremiah 29:11 Poet/artist William Blake has a classic etching featuring a little man climbing a ladder toward the moon. The caption to the picture is “I Want! I Want!” If we’re honest, we identify with Blake’s little man. We come into this world “wanting.” We’re restless, so we climb and want, and … Read More

“And after He had sent the multitudes away, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.”– Matthew 14:23 When I was a boy, we had an old radio that had been in our family for a long time. On occasion, static would come on that radio, and my dad would just smack the side of it to make the static go away. Could it be that when storms or … Read More