Long-range planning requires the right foundation, or the result will fail. This bold claim rests entirely upon a biblical worldview seen through Solomon’s lens of faith in God. Our focal verse encapsulates this life principle and provides us with an excellent guide to ensuring success in our own lives and ministries. Let’s look more carefully at our focal passage for today. The main theme of this...  Read More

John Muir was born to Daniel and Ann Gilrye Muir in Dunbar, Scotland, on April 21, 1838, the third of eight children. His earliest memories were of taking long walks with his grandfather when he was three. He grew up re-enacting romantic battles from history with boyhood friends, hunting birds' nests to watch chicks hatch, and loving the out-of-doors, where he spent most of his time.            Jo...  Read More

William Wordsworth's powerful words, "My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky. . ." recently came to mind when I saw one arching itself across the clouds. The poet wrote of the joy he felt in nature as a child, an attitude he longed never to lose as he became an old man. Wordsworth possessed what is termed a "natural piety," an innate, spiritual reverence for the natural world, which ...  Read More

John of the Cross said, “Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.” The Thessalonians had endured some stiff suffering because of their commitment to Christ, so Paul writes to strengthen and encourage them. They were “pressed out like grapes,” but they did not whine (see 1Thessalonians 1:6)! It may surprise you to hear where their afflic...  Read More

[Photo credit: Sue Carroll on Unsplash] John Newton, the great hymn writer, once said, “If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, His arm over us, His ear open to our prayer—His grace sufficient, His promise unchangeable.” The psalmist knew this calming truth about God’s favor when he penned the Psalm 91. Let’s look carefully to see the ways that God cares for us amid s...  Read More

[Originally published April 30, 2026] The study of "body and soul care" is a fascinating one. We know much, but not all, about how different cultures and peoples along the human timeline have approached illness and end-of-life issues. The care provided for people with aging, disability, and mental health concerns has run the spectrum from abandonment to long-term comfort and care. In the case of m...  Read More

[Originally published April 30] Lord Byron wrote that the dew of compassion is a tear. Few would doubt that those who warmly care for loved ones with Alzheimer's and dementia have shed an ocean of compassionate tears. However, there is a cold reality to end-of-life caring for people with these conditions. The numbers are staggering in scope.Alzheimer's is the 7th leading cause of death worldwide a...  Read More

“To err is human, to forgive divine,” is Alexander Pope’s 18th century immortal, heroic couplet from an “Essay on Criticism.” It referred originally to the way writers sometimes overly praise or harshly criticize other writers, but it has come to mean that every human being makes mistakes. The point is that we should be forgiving of those who blunder, since God shows His divine mercy in forgiving ...  Read More

A funny cartoon caught my eye because an overweight, unkempt man was lying on a couch with all sorts of junk food wrappers and empty beverage cans on the floor. The caption read that he had achieved his daily goal of taking zero exercise steps. “Under-motivated” would be a good way to describe the man! If you have ever found it extremely difficult to dedicate yourself to a consistent spiritual rou...  Read More

Sabbath performance was one of the three “most important badges of Jewish life” (NAC). Jesus shows in this passage that He was going to challenge any other oral tradition that had grown up like weeds and choked God’s intent with the giving of the law (12:3-6; “have you not read?”). We currently practice a laissez faire approach to our worship, but there remain unspoken customs in many of our churc...  Read More

“He had it all,” as we say, “then lost it all.” Humanly speaking, Saul had everything that people prize in a leader. He was kingly in appearance, a strong military strategist, and popular with the people. He fits a common leadership misconception; namely, that leaders are born, and their charisma wins the approval and following of their people. My how things never seem to change! We often choose o...  Read More

What would you wish to write if what you penned were the last words you would ever put to paper? Well, Hannah was not an author, per se, but the last words we ever hear/read from her lips are recorded in 1 Samuel 2, and they speak to this very day! Hannah’s song is 112 words in the Hebrew language and, by comparison, Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address is 272 words. Hers is an “emancipation procla...  Read More