Why?
It’s the favorite question of three-year-olds, because at three you’re still innocent enough to believe it always merits an answer.
But as time passes and our “whys?” become more sophisticated, we begin to understand that there are often multiple layers and perspectives of answers to that question.
Then sometimes there is no answer at all. At least no answer that will ever satisfy our demand to know what on earth (or heaven or hell) is going on.
I don’t know why, and probably never will, somebody decided to stop dead still with no lights of any kind on in the fast lane of a freeway in New Orleans – just around a little curve.
I don’t know why, and probably never will, that had to take place just ahead of me.
I don’t know why, if such an appointment was necessary, it couldn’t have taken place during one of the many times I’ve cruised that stretch of highway alone, instead of when I was driving with my daughter and two grandsons.
I don’t know why, and probably never will, that high-speed rear-end collision turned into a hit-and-run. I hit and he ran, never to be seen or heard from again. [click to continue…]
In a world that’s fall-down-drunk on the idea of self-everything I have some good news that may not come across as good news.
You have a keeper.
Not like keep-you-in-a-cage, though I’m quite sure that’s how some people would interpret it.
More like faithful protector, watcher, provider, attender. And keeping for your Keeper is as natural as being human is for you.
The Lord keeps all who love Him…( Ps 145:20a).
I love Psalm 145 because it contains a long list of the practical attributes of God, as His followers experience Him. Things like gracious and merciful and righteous and sustaining, to name a few. But here’s one I’ve never paid much attention to before now. It is the Lord’s nature and faithful character to keep those who love Him. [click to continue…]
He was quite the lover of the chase, this man, I think in England. He loved the sound of the baying hounds as they echoed through the woods – sometimes far away, sometimes close by.
One morning he rose early to that splendid sound… 20 deer hounds or so, baying wildly in pursuit of their target.
Looking out toward a broad, open field in front of him, the man saw a young deer – a fawn – making its way across.
Exhausted.
Afraid.
At the end of its strength. [click to continue…]
Get this scene…
It’s the long-shadow season… a late-October Saturday afternoon. Alabama has just kicked off to Tennessee, and the rest of life has been put on hold. I’ve got the snacks and drinks, recliner set to football position, and it’s a glorious day.
That’s when I hear it. In those few seconds before the doorbell rings and the dogs go crazy, I hear the giggles of a gaggle of adolescents.
Two thoughts immediately flash by:
- I am obviously not living in Dixie, because nobody in their right mind there would be roaming the streets when the Tide ‘n’ Vols are on TV.
- I’m about to be scavenger hunted.
Sure enough, I open the door to a group of teenagers, and one of ‘em hands me a list. “We’re on a scavenger hunt. Do you have any of these things?”
Game on (while the other game is on pause). [click to continue…]
Tense Truth: Because every human has a great need for guidance and care, God promises to personally meet the need of every Christ follower, as a shepherd would his sheep. Yet as our Shepherd, He will lead us directly to hostile or dangerous places, into the very presence of our enemies and death. Nevertheless, my safety and peace are not found in where I lie down, but in Who stays awake when I’m resting.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Give your heart to Jesus, and it will be the end of all your trouble.
The front end.
Just remember as you’re bumping along the road to eternal bliss, you have a Shepherd, and He has committed Himself to meet all your needs. Of course, if He’s the Shepherd, what does that make you and me?
Sheep. The stupidest, most defenseless animal in the world.
But we’re sheep with a Shepherd, and we can rest in that. It never ceases to amaze me how those inspired words of David, so comforting for centuries, continue to work their magic today. I witnessed it again last week, as a grieving family said good-bye to their mother/grandmother.
I love how practical the Lord is when He meets our needs. When God finds you hungry, He gives you food. When God finds you with a broken heart, He’s not going to come and ask you if you’ve read the Four Spiritual Laws. He’s going to attend to your broken heart. Whether the need is for strength to keep going, direction for decision making, encouragement along the way, or something more tangible, our Shepherd delights in solutions to the real problems in your life.
[click to continue…]
