Month: July 2006
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A Present Help – My God!
In that little waiting room in the hospital, I sat with my head bowed. With a broken heart and troubled mind I went to prayer – at first not sure even how to pray. A beautiful young woman lay just steps away, holding onto life by a thin thread. “Oh God, Oh God, Oh God” […]
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A God big enough to worship
When was the last time you felt awe – the sweaty palms and tightening gut that results when understanding fails and mystery remains? Most of us are quite uneasy with such a feeling. We do everything we can to destroy mystery, to define boundaries, and to find ourselves a place of comfort. In this we […]
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I am not God.
Aren’t you glad I cleared that up? Many Americans have a religion that makes it seem as though they are god, with rituals and rules bent to favor their own needs, interests, and prejudice. The glorious statement in the opening chapter of the Bible that reveals God’s Creative purposes, “Let Us make man in Our […]
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Learning to be Less
“I’m learning to be less.” Now there is one catchy slogan. Not! I don’t see the Army selling itself by advertising that they’ll teach you to submit to authority, to take orders without question during weeks of demanding basic training. How do they advertise? With an appeal to pride: “Be all that you can be […]
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Serving for the Joy?
Jake loves what he does for the Lord. He is skilled, faithful, and humble about his place of service. A few years ago the Lord impressed on him that he was to be # 2 on the team, not because he was less, inferior, or without qualification. It was just the will of God. He […]
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Bait and switch
It’s an old ploy of unscrupulous marketers- offer a product at a low price to attract attention, but once the interested party is in the store, make the bargain item unavailable and offer another, more expensive item. This week’s car search (see TFTD, 7/19) led us into a classic ‘bait and switch’ situation! Chris’ Internet […]
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The Father’s provision
Pete and Chris (my son-in-law and daughter) came to visit this week. Their old car is tired, needing replacement so Chris asked me if I’d assist them in the search for a replacement. Yesterday, we spent the late afternoon and well into the evening looking at cars. It was my delight to walk through the […]
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Keep your edge!
Life is moving quickly, too fast sometimes, around me. I never thought I’d admit that, but somehow living in the 5th decade of life changes things. I thrive on challenges and activity. Today I was wide awake at 4:30 AM, looking forward to getting into the work of the day. But, I wonder if I’m […]
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The stuff we do
The world watched, first as Hezbollah fighters kidnapped three Israeli soldiers, and then at the inevitable response of Israel’s military. Now, just days later, more than 300 people are dead and $millions of property has been destroyed. Those of us sitting here in America wonder why these people do the things they do. Why would […]
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Are you a critic?
One of the hazards of leadership is criticism. It doesn’t matter if you’re leading a Little League team or the United States of America. If you’re making decisions, somebody is going to think you made them in the wrong way! Donald Rumsfield, the Defense Secretary who is a primary architect of the war in Iraq […]
CoffeeBreak With The Word 