god

The Gift of Friction

Scripture Focus: “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest… for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” — Genesis 28:15 I don’t think anyone wakes up in the morning and asks God for a little more…
In the Interim

Scripture Focus: “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee… and Sarah shall have a son.” — Genesis 18:14 Waiting has a way of making perfectly reasonable people start having ideas. At first, we pray. We trust. We remind ourselves that God knows what He is…
Trouble at the Table

Scripture Focus: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…” — Psalm 23:5 There is something almost wonderfully unexpected about the picture David gives us in Psalm 23. The Shepherd does not wait until the enemies have disappeared before setting the table. He does not say, “Once everything settles down, once…
The Gift I Could Never Afford

Scripture Focus: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 3:24 I have discovered something rather embarrassing about myself: I am not particularly good at receiving things I cannot repay. Let somebody buy lunch, and some little accountant in my head immediately opens a ledger. All right.…
Where Mercy Finds Us

Scripture Focus: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” — Hebrews 4:16 There are places in every life where we would much rather God meet us somewhere else. Meet us after we have gotten ourselves together. Meet us…
Sand Between My Toes

Scripture Focus: “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” — Psalm 40:2 David had been walking the shoreline for nearly half an hour before he finally stopped. The beach was almost empty that early in the…
Against the Wind

Scripture Focus: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” — Isaiah 26:3 David had spent nearly four years helping design one of the tallest buildings in the city, but on the night the typhoon arrived, all those calculations suddenly felt much more personal. The…
It Takes A Herd

Scripture Focus: “…Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” — Matthew 22:39 A baby elephant never walks alone. While it has one mother, the entire herd steps in as a village. Females guide, protect, and nurture the little ones as a team. When trouble strikes, nobody stops to ask whose job it is to fix…
I Had 999 Reasons to Be Happy

Scripture Focus: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:18 There is a peculiar kind of madness that comes over me after I have spent countless hours and several long evenings putting together a 1,000-piece puzzle, only to discover that piece number…
Not Quite… Not Quite… TOO LATE!

Scripture Focus: “Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.” — Proverbs 3:28 There are few foods that demand quite as much attention as an avocado. On Monday, a man brings home a beautiful one from the grocery store already tasting the…