Light is a powerful thing. When darkness surrounds you, a little light can help you see your way out. It makes me think of the lighthouse. A light so bright it can guide you safely home. We just returned from a trip to the coast where I rekindled my love of lighthouses. As we discovered one of the oldest on Oak Island, we managed to walk up on the last tour of the season. Standing there, gazing up […]
Living a Life of Love
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One of my all time favorite verses in the Bible is James 4:8. It reads, “draw near to God and God will draw near to you.” It does not say if you do this, this and this, then God will come to you. In fact the NIV reads, “Come near to God and God will come near to you.” This is a promise. Some years back, I experienced one of the darkest times in my life. It became the catalyst for my book, The Me […]
Yesterday was the first day of school. There is always a lot of anxiousness with a brand new school year, but with it being my son’s senior year, we have shifted into excitement. We have a tradition, a motto, “First day, let’s pray.” This year is no different. When the alarm clock goes off, we are all up and at ’em. Except now that he is older, there are no lunches to pack and no clothes to lay out. It feels a lot like a […]
Have you ever thought about what it means to ‘live a life of love?” Full of Christ’s love to the point of overflowing? Sometimes life distracts us, pulling us down to the depths of reality. Current circumstances leave little room for love, peace or even joy. Maybe we don’t feel like loving or like being loved. But God’s Word tells us how to get there and why we should. Ephesians 5:1-2 reads, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love; […]
What is joyous freedom? Last week, we talked about joyful obedience which is a phrase that comes from the United Methodist liturgy. It goes like this; “Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will., we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray. […]
As I recited the words, “free me for joyful obedience,” from United Methodist communion liturgy, it was like hearing them for the very first time. “Free me for joyful obedience.” I have recited these same words more times than I can count. Free me. Me. For obedience. Not just for any obedience, joyful obedience. What does that even mean? How can obedience be joyful? How can obedience be joyful? I have been on a path, a […]
