You Are Not an Accident!

Psalm 139 is one of the most inspiring Psalms in Scripture and it was the inspiration for my book Waking Up Slowly. We don’t know when David wrote this stirring account of God’s indescribable attributes. Some believe he wrote it as a shepherd while gazing at the stars and the enormity of the heavens. Some feel he wrote it when he became king over Israel. As a more experienced human being myself it certainly feels like David had to have lived a little more life in order to write such a majestic dialog with God. But the truth is we just don’t know. In this amazing Psalm David made three observations about the greatness of God. God knows everything about us. God is everywhere we are. God ordains everything about you. The Psalmist clearly proclaims that we are not accidents and there is a purpose for you and me. You know me inside and out,    you know every bone in my
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Signs of the Times

My daughter-in-law Caroline runs an online sign business called Vine & Branches that features lots of creative, fun, and inspiring designs. Last week I checked in on the online store and received an unexpected blessing. Her latest designs touched my heart and seemed so appropriate for this season we are enduring. This is a hard time. Turn on the news and all you see is the threat of disease, disheartening discord, and heartbreaking violence. Fear seems to be the predominant emotion and the embers of that fear get stoked constantly by sensational reporting and angry social media. The first sign I saw in the store was a great reminder of God’s character and how trustworthy He is. I have been on this planet three score and seven years. Over and over and over I have seen God’s faithful hand during difficult times. I know from His Word that God is faithful to His children even in the darkest storm. The
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21 Connect: Day 15 – Let God Love You

I am learning to look into the mirror and see someone that I accept by faith and not by my feelings. I see a saint. That’s right. Many (maybe most) of Satan’s accusations about me are true. But what I now see is a man who is a saint. I found forty references to saints in Paul’s writings in the English Standard Version. From his additional descriptions, I am pretty sure that the recipients of his letters were not always behaving like saints. They were saints because of Christ, and not by meticulously following the law. God sees those who trust Jesus as righteous, no matter how many accusations are thrown at them. Amazing. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Evenbefore he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and
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21 Connect: Day 14 – The Power of Prayer

I remember hearing a wonderful story about a prayer that was spoken in a little country church. The new pastor called on one of his older deacons to lead in the opening prayer. The deacon stood up, bowed his head and said, “Lord, I hate buttermilk.” The pastor opened one eye and wondered where this was going. The deacon continued, “Lord, I hate lard.” Now the pastor was totally perplexed. The deacon continued, “Lord, I ain’t too crazy about plain flour. But after you mix ’em all together and bake ’em in a hot oven, I just love biscuits.“Lord, help us to realize when life gets hard, when things come up that we don’t like, whenever we don’t understand what You are doing, that we need to wait and see what You are making. After you get through mixing and baking, it’ll probably be something even better than biscuits. Amen.” We make prayer so complex and hard. Philip Yancey wrote
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21 Connect: Day 7 – This Crisis Can Teach us the Wisdom of Sabbath

On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. Genesis 2:2-3, NLT God did not need to rest. He was modeling for His creation that we need to slow down and relax. Think of that. The God of Creation can kick back and enjoy what has been accomplished. Our Creator is telling us that we are creatures and not machines. What is wrong with us that we cannot take moments to enjoy and appreciate both our gifts of grace and the work of our hands? God understood that the body, mind, and spirit need rest and refueling time. Our culture has lost that instinct and ability to give ourselves permission to rest. Now a worldwide pandemic has forced many of us to slow down. For some it
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Can We All Move to Mr Roger’s Neighborhood?

The day after a wonderful Thanksgiving Eve family gathering we checked out the new movie about the iconic children’s star Fred Rogers. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is based on the real life relationship between Rogers and Esquire magazine writer Tom Junod. In the movie the cynical journalist has been renamed Lloyd Vogel. Known for his unflinching exposes of people and events, Vogel chafes when receiving an assignment to do a “puff-piece” on television’s Mr. Rogers. Vogel approaches this story determined to find out if this gentle man is a fake. His skepticism prompts one of the best exchanges in the movie with his long suffering wife. Lloyd Vogel: I’m profiling Mr. Rogers. Andrea Vogel: Lloyd, please don’t ruin my childhood. I will not offer any spoilers. I will say the movie was not what I expected. It was much, much more. I have a confession to make and an apology to offer. I was “too cool” for Mr.
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Perspective

  I recently visited a large rehabilitation hospital for patients dealing with spinal cord injuries, strokes and traumatic brain trauma. As I walked  toward my car I noticed two young men in wheelchairs chatting near the entrance. I overheard a snippet of conversation that rocked my day. The tone was not bitter nor sad. This is the sentence I overheard. “I would give it all up just to be able to scuba dive one more time.” What this young man once did without thought or difficulty now was a nearly impossible dream. My heart was pierced. Just that morning I had fussed about a balky hip and yet I was walking freely to my car. I often thought about an aching shoulder but I had freedom to lift and move. All of us take so much for granted. Since that encounter I think of that young man when my hip or shoulder aches. I say a quick prayer of thanksgiving
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