Category Archives: Odds & Ends

God In A Box

Someone shared a story to a group about God intervening in their life in a highly unusual and specific way.  Remarks were made afterward to the effect that God can do anything He wants, we can’t limit Him, put Him in a box, etc.  This was followed by referencing the woman who was healed by touching Jesus’Continue reading “God In A Box”

Glory In The Ordinary

I don’t mean to suggest that there is no wonder in the familiar.  Wonder and novelty are certainly not the same and shouldn’t be confused.  But wonder is harder to spot in the familiar because . . . well, it’s familiar.  And that leads us to something that is generally not associated at all with wonder but isContinue reading “Glory In The Ordinary”

Giving The Day To Jesus (3)

5. The Scriptures speak about encouraging one another each day (Hebrews 3:13). The letter of Hebrews is written to a group of second generation Christians who were struggling to stay in the race (12:1ff). As Jewish Christians, the pressure was being ratcheted up on them by their family and friends to reject their belief in Jesus as theContinue reading “Giving The Day To Jesus (3)”

Giving The Day To Jesus (2)

As with tons of other subjects, the Scripture doesn’t directly address this (there’s no book in the Bible called Carpe Diem or Daily Disciple). Nonetheless, the subject is indirectly touched upon several times. Here are some of the things we find: 1. Jesus couched our discipleship in daily terms. In Luke 9:23 (and about a dozen other places in similar forms), HeContinue reading “Giving The Day To Jesus (2)”

Giving The Day To Jesus (1)

Suppose you have a friend who was unimaginably generous in addition to being incredibly wealthy. This friend wanted to share their treasure with you, but in addition to their other qualities, they were also remarkably wise. They knew that giving you too much at once would probably not be a good idea so instead they sharedContinue reading “Giving The Day To Jesus (1)”

Freedom Of The Fence

I heard a story years ago about a baseball player who was advancing through the minor leagues when something happened that brought his career to a temporary halt.  The problem had nothing to do with his ability—he was a five tool player, meaning he could hit, hit with power, run, field, and throw. His dilemma wasContinue reading “Freedom Of The Fence”

Forever

In March of 2007, the United States Postal Service did what I consider to be one of the greatest things they’ve ever done:  they created the Forever Stamp.  The idea behind the stamp was simple yet sublime—create a stamp that could always be used to mail a letter regardless of how many times the postal rates change.  Now this isContinue reading “Forever”

Falling In Love With The Future

I read somewhere that the reason many people fail to embrace positive, constructive change in their lives is because they love the past more than the future. While this can affect anyone I would guess it is especially true for those of us who are fifty and above. It is easy to fall into thisContinue reading “Falling In Love With The Future”

Drinking Or Pouring?

I heard someone relate his grandmother’s wisdom regarding the half full/empty glass.  She said, “People want to know if the glass is half-empty of half-full.  Well, to my way of thinking, it all depends upon whether you’re drinking or pouring!” There’s much in these words for the disciple of Jesus!  If we take our behavioral cues from ourContinue reading “Drinking Or Pouring?”