Humble pie. It belongs next to my private chocolate stash because God says this is one dish best served—to myself. When someone serves humble pie to me, that’s humiliation. Not a tasty dish. Humility, however, is when I choose to be humble—and this pie hits God’s sweet spot.  “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand that…

“Be joyful always.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16 NIV Joy. My intersections with this word tend to occur around December when Christmas carols move joy to the forefront. The rest of the year, my melancholy personality fights to find it. However, a recent writing project brought some joyful discoveries: Joy is commanded. “Be joyful always” is a command,…

Light. The older I get, the more I need. Whether I’m driving to a new place at night, reading small print on the back of a can, or digging a splinter out of my foot, I need light for direction, clarity, and exposure.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus previewed His departure and the…

Salt. It perks up my French fries, chlorinates my pool, and boosts my Gatorade when the Texas heat and humidity make my sweat glands run like faucets.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus affirmed the need for salt (and the Church) as flavor, fertilizer, and preservative. “You are the salt of the earth. But…

COVID-19 has brought a host of challenges. Can God—has God—hidden treasure in the chaos? Isolation. Disruption. A shift to online everything. Financial and employment changes. Lots of family time for some or, in the case of our locked-down senior adults, no time at all. Treasure? Ecclesiastes 5:19 says, “when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the…

How much is enough? Advertisers create demand for a product or service—and often, that serves us well.  But other times, it can feed the flesh.  Proverbs 30:15-16 reads,  “The leech has two daughters.    ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. “There are three things that are never satisfied,    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:      the grave, the barren womb,    land, which is never satisfied…

Some people like to stir it up. Add some drama, then watch the fallout.  Reality TV thrives on this kind of strife.  In real life, the entertainment value drops. Significantly. If you have stirrers in your family, you know how much prayer goes into family get-togethers. Please God, let there be peace! “For as churning cream…

Favorites. We mesh with some people like puzzle pieces snapping into place. Seamless. Easy. Click.  Others jar us, grate our rough edges, and stretch our patience. Uncomfortable. Difficult. Scraaape.  The apostle James gives no quarter, “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism . . . If you really…

If you want to teach spiritual principles to your children, look no further than the book of Proverbs. King Solomon graciously supplies us with word pictures and object lessons. Check out Proverbs 10:26 (NIV), “As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them.” Let’s examine Solomon’s word…

Have you given much thought to practicing your faith? I mean—the practice part.  As kids, we practiced a lot of stuff. Piano, soccer, multiplication tables.  But faith? Not so much.  Oh, we attended church each week, but that’s not the same thing. What if we practiced our faith the way we practiced our favorite extra-curricular…