May 2013
1 post
5 tags
Capacity Needs Character
Photo credit: Bing Images
(Part 2)
“And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to their own ability, and immediately he went on a journey.” Matthew 25:15
I must admit that for years I have read this parable wrongly. I read it through the lens of equity: the talents were unequal. My faulty vision created illusions that missed the...
April 2013
1 post
6 tags
Own and Occupy
Photo credit: gardenofeaden.blogspot.com
(Part One)
“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat….’” Genesis 2:15-17
What am I responsible for? What is the...
December 2012
1 post
4 tags
Hope Requires the Impossible
Photo Credit: sharkteeth5-godisreal,blogspot.com
“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’ ” Luke 2:10, 11.
God continues His communique to His chosen people. For 400 years, He had been silent....
October 2012
2 posts
8 tags
Is God Fair?
Photo credit: Ze Valdi
“Then Peter answered and said to Him, ‘See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?’ ” Matthew 19:27.
Peter’s question is a spin-off from Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler. He had heard the standard from Jesus’ own lips: total commitment. He sizes the twelve up…and they measure up. They...
6 tags
God, You're Impossible...to Please!
Photo credit: Rajeshkunnath Photography
“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ ” Matthew 19:26.
We like this verse, don’t we? It seems to offers us a blank check for whatever impossible situation we’re facing. It magnifies the greatness of our God and, in so doing, sizes-down our...
September 2012
1 post
7 tags
Exposure
Photo credit: beast love’s photostream
“…But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments…. Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow Me.’” Matthew 19:17, 21.
Say that again, Jesus. Are You saying what I think You’re saying…that I...
August 2012
2 posts
5 tags
Breaking the Norm
Photo credit: MarcelGermain’s Photostream
“…but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” Daniel 11:32b
There are times in life when you have to “stand up and be counted”…when you have to break the norm of the culture around you or the norm of your own personality…when you have to go against the status quo. ...
4 tags
Called to Your Significance
Photo credit: neloqua’s photostream
“Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.’” Matthew 4: 19.
Such a simple verse…straightforward…uncomplicated. Yet, it has dimensions that take us past our surface understanding.
Jesus is just starting His ministry journey. He has lived 30 years being what God had called Him to be; now...
July 2012
1 post
6 tags
The Tipping Point
Photo credit: Spencer Finnley’s Photostream
“But He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.’ And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.’ Matthew 15:27.
The conversation is between Jesus, the Jew, and the Syro-Phoenician woman, a...
May 2012
2 posts
7 tags
What is your tree?
Photo credit: Rutthenut
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying. ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” Genesis 2:16, 17.
Speaking at women retreats is something I enjoy…once all the preparation is done! It’s...
7 tags
When God is out of control
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20, 21.
These are Paul’s words to Ephesian believers…tacked on as a wrap-up to weighty aspirations. The truth of the above passage has hit home...
March 2012
2 posts
5 tags
Going Home
Robin in front of an Indonesian village home
“As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.” Matthew 9:9, 10
Jesus...
6 tags
Persistent Petitioning
Photo credit: Lel4nd
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.” Matthew 7:11
The verbs “ask, seek, knock” are present tense...
January 2012
1 post
8 tags
Struggling Faith
Photo credit:Jozsef Molnar
“And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ” Genesis 20:13
The story line is this: Sarah is so beautiful that Abraham fears for his life in his wanderings. In a self-protective manner, he lies...
December 2011
3 posts
5 tags
The Sanctuary of Silence
Photo credit: St. Takla.org
“Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.” Luke 1:64.
Assuming Elizabeth conceived immediately following Zacharias’ return from his week of temple service, Zacharias has had nine months of silence. Nothing is said in Scripture of those months…but I think they were pregnant with meaning for this...
6 tags
In the Presence of Glory
Picture credit: James Tissot (Courtesy of Brooklyn Museum)
“And Zacharias said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.’ ” Luke 1:18
Zacharias always intrigues me…no matter how often I ponder his part in the history of Jesus’ birth. Whenever I read what went on between Gabriel and Zacharias, I have a...
7 tags
Silence and God
Photo credit:h.koppdelaney
December…my favorite month of the year. The cold weather…warm fires…spicy aromas …red candles and green pinery …a decorated tree. The time I once again immerse myself in the Christmas Story, devouring its narrative through the gospels of Matthew and Luke. It’s a tradition I’ve kept for several years, finding it roots me in...
November 2011
2 posts
6 tags
Randomness and God
Photo credit: darkmatter
“But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years…So it was, that while he (Zacharias) was serving as priest…his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord….Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, ‘Thus the Lord has...
5 tags
RESTING PLACE
Photo credit:Shasrashoob
“And he called his name Noah, saying, ‘This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.’ ” Genesis 5:29
Have you lived long enough to see the trends and patterns of your soul…those orientations that seem to surface at certain times in your journey through life? Deja...
October 2011
2 posts
7 tags
Fabric of the soul
Photo credit: chez_worldwide
My devotional reading this morning was like a maze. I started with one verse that led me to another verse that led me to another verse. I started in the New Testament and ended in the Old. I started with one man and ended with a multitude. I started with John the Baptist in Matt. 3 and ended with the children of Israel in Num. 14. I started with power and ended...
4 tags
Own Your Faith
Photo credit: JordyR
A few weeks ago, I had a graphic illustration given to me on the matter of ownership. My six-soon-to-be-seven year old granddaughter had recently attended the opening of My American Doll store. With excitement in her voice and delight in her eyes, she displayed her treasures from that opening. Amongst several items were two adorable animals…a kitten and a puppy....
September 2011
3 posts
“ If I can write an unkind letter, speak an unkind word, think an unkind thought...”
– “If” Dohnavur Fellowship
7 tags
Believe
Photo credit: bubbo.etsy.com
Because fear seems to be a nagging reality these days, God counters that with the word “believe”. It is as much ‘in my face’ as the word ‘fear’. I heard it in church last week. I read it in my quiet time the other day. I met it through looking up references around another word. It became a conversation point with a friend.
...
3 tags
Creative power...in you
Photo credit: zAmb0ni
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead….Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God…but became futile in their thoughts…and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible...
August 2011
2 posts
5 tags
The Place of Faith
Photo credit: WTL photos’ photostream
Yep, it’s that season again…Robin and I are making quantum leaps: starting up a new ministry and selling our beautiful home. They are unrelated apart from their timing and the challenge to believe God.
I say “challenge” because the onslaught of fear and uncertainty are abiding companions. They are ‘in our face’…unsettling our spirits, disturbing our...
7 tags
Fear and Faith
Photo credit: Jinto!’s photostream
There have been times when Robin and I have had to make quantum leaps of faith. We left the mission field because God called us to pastoral ministry…but with no church to go to. Ten years later (in pastoral ministry in the U.S.), we committed ourselves to move back to New Zealand…again without a church to go to. Eight years after that, we left the...
July 2011
19 posts
4 tags
I Stumbled (well almost)
photo credit: hellabella
So wrote king David during his life time. He says, “…But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.” Psalm 73:2. On this occasion, the cause of his ‘almost stumbling’ was envy…of the boastful, especially as he sees the wealth of the wicked. Verses 4-12 describe their seemingly carefree life. David even...
5 tags
Squeezed
photo credit: John Stevens Fernandez
The word ‘squeeze’ comes to mind. You know the feeling. It comes when several arenas of your life unravel at the same time. Health becomes an issue and doctors’ visits more frequent. Investments turn sour. Committed relationships at the professional level begin to show strain. Your house sells (Praise the Lord!) but a rental property falls through at...
3 tags
Winterized
photo credit: numbphoto
Outside the bedroom window in our former New Zealand home stood a towering Silver Birch tree. Over the years we lived there, I found immense pleasure in that tree. I watched the spindly branches bud and sprout tender, almost-transparent leaves. They seemed too delicate to survive; but survive they did and summer found my tree with sturdy leaves in full bloom. The wind...
3 tags
Waste or Wealth?
photo credit: thebittenword.com
Many years ago when we did pastoral work in New Zealand, my husband would have his elders’ meetings around an early morning breakfast table in our home. I would take a hot cup of tea back to our bedroom and enjoy the coziness of personal space off the backdrop of torrential rain, and howling wind.
One morning in particular my mind wandered to bottling...
5 tags
Rejects
photo credit: funky64
Several years ago, Robin would rummage through the ‘seconds’ cupboard of his brother’s pottery studio. Because of those scavenger hunts, we had several decorative pieces gracing our home. But sometimes Robin stumbled upon something that was no longer a second…it was a reject: the head broken off a terracotta cat, a planter split in two, a wine jug fired to its...
3 tags
Devotion with Courage
photo credit: krikit
“A woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as he sat at the table.” Matthew 26:7
Devotion with courage. Those words pierced my thinking this past week and stay etched there in the forefront of my mind. There are times in life when mere devotion is not enough…no matter how sincere that devotion may...
5 tags
A Jar of Oil
photo credit: freefoto.com
The prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17) had been the focus of my quiet time for several months. I finally arrived at the words: “I have commanded a widow to provide for you….” Remember the story? Elijah was caught up in a three year drought (which was God’s judgment on the land), had been living at the brook Cherith (where the ravens brought him food and the brook gave him...
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Prayer-seeing the invisible
Photo credit: wallpaper4god
You are in prison for speaking out what God told you to say. You are a prophet, your charge is to tell what God told you. But some leaders hate you for the messages you have delivered from God, hence you are in prison. Your life hangs in the balance. In the midst of your imprisonment God speaks to you a comforting word on prayer.
“Call to Me and I will answer...
1 tag
“If you want to go to sleep with a clear conscience, either live with integrity...”
– Life’s little book of Wisdom
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Oak Trees
It is where he went often throughout his life. What he did there is even more notable. He built something out of stones. It took time and effort; but he knew what he was doing: building an altar to his God. It was at the end of a long journey, a journey that God had told him to take. “Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “to your descendants I will give this land”. And he...
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“Don’t make plans and then ask for the Lord’s approval. Ask the Lord...”
– Life’s little handbook of wisdom.
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Rock that is higher than I.
. “…when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2
I love this verse! It is so real and practical. It speaks to our lives today when being overwhelmed is the harsh reality of life. It tells me where to go…to the rock that is higher than I. Like David who prayed this prayer so long ago, I need a rock that is bigger than me, higher than...
4 tags
It Rains a Lot in Seattle
It rains a lot in Seattle. My back lawn is soaked! So soaked that water lies on top of the bottom part of the lawn. This is not from a day of rain, nor a week of rain; it is from a season of rain.
Although a day of refreshing or a week of refreshing from the presence of the Lord would be welcomed, I wonder if we need a season of refreshing? Our lives are as barren and dry as a desert, our...
5 tags
A Bit Off-Color
Photo credit: Jesse Kruger
The words “a bit off color” ran through my mind…not because I was feeling unwell but because I was thinking about a trip we took a few years ago. Robin had spent several weeks planning our 10 days of Vermont Fall Foliage. That meant airline tickets, B & B bookings, car rental reservations, sights to see and routes to plot. While he asked repeatedly, “When is the...
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