The Qualities of God

♦ March 30, 2026 ♦ Leave a comment

Psalms 36:5-9 5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;

Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains;

Your judgments are a great deep;

O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,

And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.

9 For with You is the fountain of life;

In Your light we see light.

 

During this Holy Week where we  remember the great sacrifice of God to redeem fallen man, it is good to contemplate the qualities of God.

  1. Mercy—showing compassion on those who do not deserve it
  2. Faithfulness—loyal and steadfast
  3. Righteousness—not something God does but who He is.
  4. Just—fair

We should never take for granted the qualities of God. For one thing, God never changes so once we understand who He is we never have to wonder how He will respond to a specific situation. And, because God seeks only our good, we know we can trust Him to provide for and protect His people.  

 

May we, as we approach another Easter, keep our eyes on the cross and our hearts open to the Resurrection for there is no salvation in any other name but Jesus.

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rejoice, I say Rejoice

♦ March 29, 2026 ♦ Leave a comment

 

Psalms 118:24-29 24 This is the day the LORD has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Save now, I pray, O LORD;

O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!

We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

27 God is the LORD,

And He has given us light;

Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise You;

You are my God, I will exalt You.

29 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

 

Oh, the bar was set high for praise on that first Palm Sunday when cloaks and palm leaves were laid before Jesus as He made His way into the city on the back of a borrowed donkey. Shouts of praise were so loud it was feared the Roman authorities would come and suppress the celebration. But could anything quell the sounds that grew louder with each passing?

 

Jesus, soon to be the Lamb for sinners slain, was being hailed as the king who would free the Jews from Roman rule. After all, He had recently raised Lazarus from the dead. Was anything beyond His abilities?

 

What are we expecting this Palm Sunday? Are we looking for a king who will forgive all of our worldly debts, someone who will take us just the way we are and then leave us there?

 

Or are we longing after the day when King Jesus returns in all of His glory and that first Palm Sunday pales in comparison to His Second Coming?

 

May we behave as though each day is Palm Sunday and let our praises ring out to our coming King! All hail the power of Jesus’ name! His mercies endure forever!

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

 

My Times Are In Your Hands

♦ March 28, 2026 ♦ Leave a comment

 

Ps 41: But I trust in you, Lord;
    I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hands;
    deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
    from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant;
    save me in your unfailing love.

 

I love praying the scriptures? Why? Because the scripture is not only for our instruction, but it is, according to 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) … God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, and correcting. David wrote this psalm probably when his son Absalom was trying to kill him. I can imagine his crying in disappointment and despair as he knew that his own son led the rebellion against him.

 

When we feel hopeless, there is no better place to turn than the Bible. When we understand that our days have been numbered by God, that should give us some peace. When we remember that Jesus calmed the winds and the waves, we know that He can calm the storms in our own lives. He may not remove the storm, but He can give us peace while we are in the storm.

 

Let us practice these three disciplines daily:

  1. Read your Bible. This is like tasting soup to make sure it is seasoned right.
  2. Contemplate the reading. Who wrote the scripture, to whom was it written, what were the circumstances?  This is Ike letting the soup simmer so that all of the ingredients are blended.
  3. Pray the Word out loud.  The Bible.is full of prayers and there are many online resources to point you toward prayers that can help in your situation.  Now your soup is ready to serve.

 

May we know the power of prayer and be mindful of the time we have been given.  

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. . Amen.

 

 

DELIGHT IN THE LORD

♦ March 24, 2026 ♦ Leave a comment

 

Isaiah 61:10-11 10 I delight greatly in the LORD;

my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up

and a garden causes seeds to grow,

so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness

and praise spring up before all nations

 

As we approach Holy Week, I pause to reflect on all God teaches us through His Word. When I read this part of Isaiah, I am reminded that Jesus read from Isaiah 61 during His first teaching in the temple. And I see that there is much joy in the Lord because He has given us salvation and clothed us in righteousness.

 

I believe one of the greatest gifts we have received because of our salvation is our ability to have joy even during suffering. Joy is like a well spring that bubbles up to the surface whenever I speak of the goodness of God. Joy sustains me and lifts me above the place of doubt and fear. Joy is my dearest companion as I walk what used to be called “the pilgrim pathway.”

 

May we allow the joy within us to grow and share it with others as we prepare to celebrate the sacrifice only God could make so that we, sinful man, could be reconciled to a Holy God.

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lean not into your own understanding

♦ March 23, 2026 ♦ Leave a comment

 

Prov 7 (ESV) 1 My son, keep my words

and treasure up my commandments with you;

2 keep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;

3 bind them on your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

 

Years ago I was given the best compliment of my life. I was told I was teachable.

 

Being teachable means being flexible, being aware that we don’t have all of the answers. Beyond that, staying in the Word of God shows people who we are, for we do not rely on our own understanding. We depend upon, have confidence in and have ultimate trust in Jesus, John 1:14 (NIV) 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

Who are we? Despite our inadequacies we are called children of the King.  How great is that?  We are kingdom people! We are those who contend for the faith! We may grow weary, but we do not faint. We speak words of life because words matter, faith matters, and the promises of God matter.

 

May we today and every day look to God our Father to praise Him for Who He is, to the Son to thank Him for our salvation, and to the Holy Spirit to ask Him to fill us continually to overflowing. And, may we speak the name of Jesus, sharing Him with all we meet.

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.