God often provides pieces of information about our future but most of the time does not give us the entire picture. It would be so much easier if he would but there is a purpose behind the partial disclosure. When reading 1 Samuel 16 this week about Samuel anointing David to be the next King of Israel, I had this thought, Why didn’t God simply tell Samuel that Jesse’s son, David, would be the next king? It would have been so much easier for Samuel, as well as for Jesse and his family. Instead, on the way to the anointing, Samuel battled with the unknown. He was fearful about the outgoing Kin ..read more

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever (Deuteronomy 29:29). I received a wonderful message in my inbox from a retired pastor. He wanted to share that as we go through this life, there will be devastating happenings and events that make no sense. How do we handle these? Here is how he processed them: When I was a teenager, I heard a sermon on the mystery box. The pastor recommended that throughout life everyone keep an imaginary box into which they place those things that happen in life for which there seems ..read more

“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2: 4, NRSV). I have turned into one of those grandmothers. Every chance, whether people like it or not, I am going to share the latest photos of my sweet grandson, William. That’s because William has captured my heart and I want to tell others about him. We speak about what we love. What do you like to talk about? In Revelation 2, the Lord had a lot of compliments for the church at Ephesus—the members worked hard for the Lord, they were patient, and they hated evil—but they had forgotten the most ..read more

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die..Do you believe this?”“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into t ..read more

Growing up, Easter was about Easter egg hunts and beautiful baskets filled with candy. I used to get excited the week before the holiday because I knew Easter was coming and it was special. Now, as a Christian, Easter means so much more. It is the remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us, so that we could both enter the Holy of Holies where God resides, as well as gain eternal life. In my life there is nothing more important than what occurred on Easter. However, as we meditate on and remember Holy Week, it is also good to think about the first century followers of ..read more

They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21: 7-9) The week between Palm Sunday and Easter is a very holy week. It is Jesus’ last week before His death. The crowds on Palm Sunday were ecstatic! They saw Jesus approach Jerusalem, and ..read more

Have you ever wanted to shut off all your responsibilities and hide from the world? Many of us may get to this point when the demands of life seem to be too much. However, no matter what we are going through, we cannot hide from God. Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.” This means that when we are going through something difficult, we should be transparent before God, even when we are not admitting our weaknesses to others. There are many hiders spoken about in the Bible, but God always found them wherever they tucked away. In Genesis 16, Hagar fled from he ..read more

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done (Genesis 2:2-3). When I was growing up in the South, Atlanta, we had blue laws, which meant no business could be open on Sunday. Families went to church together, rested, and enjoyed the day. The politicians and the businessmen of the time respected what God had commanded—to rest on the Sabbath. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of s ..read more

The emotion has not hit me yet. This week, I participated in the final doctoral residency for my Doctor of Ministry program. For the past three years, our doctoral cohort has met in person one week out of the semester, while the rest of our study is online. The residency is filled with dense, but interesting material. Generally, we are required to do a couple of presentations, and are worn out from long days and intense concentration but we are also revived through the rekindling of relationships with the other members of our cohort, as well as with professors. I could not have made it this f ..read more

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3). In 1981, the rock group 38 Special released a song called Hold on Loosely. It was about love, but there was a line in the song that applies to all of life: “If you cling too tightly, you’re gonna lose control.” Sometimes when we want something badly, we push for it at all cost. Like a dog clinging to his favorite chew toy, nothing is going to take our desire away, and we relinquish control of rational thought. We have forgotten to seek God’s direction first and are insisting on our way rather than God’s. In th ..read more