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When We Rebuke Jesus
Remember the story of Peter rebuking Jesus? Recently, I re-read it with new eyes. “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on...
Idol Formation, Finale
(Prayer note: In the past I asked you to pray for my brother, Chuck, who has myeloma, cancer of the blood. He was being tested for getting a bone marrow transplant and found out his myeloma count is still too high. He has to continue chemo. Please pray the Lord uses...
Idol Formation, Part 2
(A fast update: the latest surprise assignment from the Lord as we’re here in Greece is that I will be the Sunday school class teacher for the middle-school girls--three of them. Pray for me! This is definitely out of my league. The girls are Olivia, Lilly, and...
God’s Work in Greek Bus Station
(I'll get back to my topic of idol formation most likely next time but wanted to share this Greece story with you first.)In a previous post I mentioned that since we didn’t know all that we would be doing on our trip, it was a faith adventure. That felt strange,...
Idol Formation–Part I
Thank you for your prayers for Larry and I while we’re in Greece. We are enjoying the beautiful island of Zakynthos and appreciate the ministry of Taki and April Korianitis who are pastors of a Baptist church. We are preparing for speaking at a Marriage Seminar on...
Don’t Discount Your Steps of Faith
(Photo by Mark C. Miller)We're talking about risk and I thought this photo of my four-year-old grandson, Raffi, shows what trusting God with taking a risk looks like. Raffi is running through the sprinklers getting wet and if you read my last post, you saw how he was...
Ready to Risk?
(Photo by Mark C. Miller)My four-year-old grandson, Raphael, is attacking the water sprinklers with his blue Star Wars Lightsaber. When I saw this photo taken by our son I related to Raffi. See how he is bravely jutting forth the Lightsaber but also backing away at...
Would You Buy the T-Shirt?
On the news this morning, commentators were giving their opinons about JCPenney pulling off their shelves a girl's T-shirt that said, "I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me." Their points were that girls were being encouraged to be selfish...
Malachi: Book of Self-Deception
We've been chatting about deceiving ourselves (see previous posts) and concurrently I've been studying Malachi. Guess what? The Book of Malachi is all about self-deception. It's all about the prophet Malachi giving God's perspective of the Israelites's blind spots....
Grateful Beggars
Out and about on errands, I suddenly craved a diet soda. I spied a hamburger fast-food restaurant and headed for it--when I also spied a homeless man sitting on a block wall holding a hand-printed sign. I couldn't read the sign but immediately felt the familiar guilt...
Who Me? Deceived?
Almost seven weeks with our four-year-old grandson, Raphael, was so great. One of the incidents that stand out is Raffi's penchant for picking at scabs. This child is obsessed with scabs. He was even picking at some on my fingers. You'd think it would hurt for him to...
Wanna FEEL Holy?
Have you ever wondered what holiness feels like? I think I found a verse that expresses what God might like us to experience when we see the fruits of holiness that He is producing in our lives. It's Malachi 4:2. “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness...
A Modern Day Prodigal Story
(Just a reminder. If you would like to receive my blog posts as an email, please sign up in the left column where you can put in your email address.)I was on a mission from God.I woke up at our daughter's home as I have for the last four weeks and headed out around...
God Knows the Plan
For several years, Larry and I have looked forward to returning to Greece. We were there several years ago on a ministry trip that also included Poland. We spent a week in each place, speaking and making friends with those in leadership. In Greece, we had the...
Just Give Me the Chocolate, I Mean, the Lord
If you know me, you know I'm a sugar-and-chocolate-holic. I look for any and all opportunities to get my fix. Sometimes, I make decisions based on whether I can fit in getting something sweet.Now, if you are a "salty" person, just transfer the thinking to that. I find...
“You’re Welcome”–God
I'm sorry that I won't be posting as much but we're staying with four-year-old grandson, Raphael "Raffi" (and his parents) for a month. Funny thing, but it's hard to concentrate on much else when a darling little boy is begging, "Play with me! Play with me!"His mom,...
God is a Multi-Tasker
My daughter, Darcy, and I were talking about my brother's illness and she said something profound, "God is a multi-tasker." We had been talking about how God has been working in each of our lives in different and unique ways because of Chuck's illness. According to...
Jesus Says, “I Feel Your Pain”
I visited my brother Chuck in the hospital yesterday. He was diagnosed with Light Chain Myeloma today which is a cancer of the blood. He's in extreme pain because the disease has created bone fractures in his spine. He'll have spine surgery later this week and start...