“Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” John 6:27 Why had they come? These were those who came not because of the miracles they saw. (vs 2,26) They had gotten in a boat and crossed the sea to find Jesus. They were passionate in their search, but there was something amiss about their motives. These came because they had been filled. Perhaps

“When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” John 6:12 Do you suppose they took “the fragments that remain '' to the local leper colony? Perhaps each disciple took a basket home to their family or quite possibly the little boy who gave up his lunch was awarded the leftovers. What I do know is that nothing is ever lost with Jesus! This is just one of two thoughts I feel deeply in my soul as I read this verse. D

What more can be said of John 3:16 than has not already been said from centuries ago until now? Martin Luther, who in the early 1500s led the way for many out of a religion of works to a gospel of unmerited grace, called John 3:16 the “gospel in miniature.” Modern day author Max Lucado described it as "a twenty-five word parade of hope." And to be sure it is! American footballer, Tim Tebow wrote John 3:16 on his eye black during the 2009 BCS National Championship Game. For m

I don’t like snakes or spiders, especially poisonous ones! And I bet you can say the same. Well…..most of you. Some of you have pet snakes or spiders! Ewww! I remember a time when Katie was almost 4. She was playing outside with her big brother and sister. Out of breath, her big sister Heather rushed into the house, “Mom there is a spider on Katie!” “Well, knock it off,” I replied, plain and simple since spiders are not uncommon creatures. To this day I still wonder how at 6

When Jeff passed away, I was immediately thrown into life as a single Mom. And that meant paying the bills and balancing the checkbook. Which is something people did on the regular back in the day before online banking and cell phone apps. I was great at Algebra in high school but was not so great at business math. To this day, I still struggle with counting and keeping track. I was advised to set aside some money in a savings account that I would not touch and I did this. Bu

When I was in 8th grade a group from my church along with a few friends and classmates from school went to a Christian camp called the Wilds for a winter weekend retreat. I had a tremendous time! This was the first time I had ever heard preaching and teaching on the adverse effects of worldly music. The weekend was a life changer for me and a few of my friends. I went home determined to glorify God in this area of music. Word got out at school that some of us had given up r

I was about 12 years old. Phyllis had been my best friend for one week each year at camp. This was the only time we saw each other and we were pretty much inseparable. Phyllis threw a pack of peppermint lifesavers on her cot and ran to the restroom. I had just enough money in my camp account to get one candy bar and one soda each day during canteen time. No room for extras like a pack of lifesavers and Phyllis had not offered me one of hers. I’ll take just one, I thought. She

Lifeguards do not sit on the shore for the best swimmers. They are not there for the fittest, not there for the skilled. They are there for the sinkers. One day as a 10 year old girl at camp that was me. I was sinking in the deep end of the pond! The lifeguard was searching and watching for me. So glad I was saved from drowning that day! And so it is with Jesus… “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭5:32‬ Many thought Jesus came to establish

The following is from Matthew Henry on the last 5 verses of Luke 17. “When God's judgments are laying all waste, he will take an effectual course to preserve those that are his, by remarkable providences distinguishing between them and others that were nearest to them: two in a bed, one taken and the other left; one snatched out of the burning and taken into a place of safety, while the other is left to perish in the common ruin.” Destruction has come and is yet to come on th

Today we are remembering Lot’s wife as Christ our Savior admonished us to do in Luke 17. I must say it would be hard for any mother to leave her children behind knowing the destruction to come. When bad things happen, when close loved ones make life-destroying decisions, we can easily get caught up in looking back. Looking back at what might have been. Looking back at what I could have done differently. Looking back at all of the circumstances leading up to a multitude of bad

There are times that you just have to be ready to go. This is the lesson my son David learned one Sunday afternoon when he got caught up in “going back”. David was just 4 years old and he had colored an amazing picture in junior church. He treasured this amazing work of art and wanted to put it in a safe place. So, instead of getting on the bus our family rode every Sunday after church, he ran to our house, which was right next door, to put his picture in that safe place. In

They wined, they dined, they celebrated life’s most meaningful events, but they were not ready. This is how it was in Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900. Galveston was a large, bustling seaport and the second richest city per capita in the US at the time. But a storm was on the horizon. In fact a category 4 hurricane was on its way. Weather forecasting techniques were not very advanced, but there had been warnings. No one took them seriously. They got up and went about th

I love sitting out in the sun. When I was a teenager I would sit out in my backyard and still, to this day, I sit out on my back deck. I love to bask in the warmth of the sun. Suppose when I was a teen my younger sister, Cathy, decided to join me in sitting out in the sun. I become indignant, “This is my sun. This is my warmth. You cannot have it. It is mine.” Imagine that I thought my sister was taking the light and warmth of the sun from me by partaking of its light and war

Matthew Henry said of the lost son in Luke 15 that he was “given up for lost.” Many of us know someone just like that. It seemed to be the case for Uncle Homer, yet I felt God prompting me to go. I was afraid to go, but I knew the Lord wanted me to go. Even if he cursed me and ran me out of the room. God had told me to go. Since Uncle Homer had been placed in the hospital to remove a tumor in his abdomen that was the size of a football, me and my three children prayed for his

When my dad would give his testimony there was always a point where he would say, “And as that man walked away, I saw myself! I saw myself for who I was. I ran to my room and fell on my knees. I heard my Momma’s voice, ‘Polly! Just call on Jesus!’” The man my dad referred to was a new patient who had been admitted to the state hospital to be detoxed from his alcoholism. Dad had been there a few weeks and was feeling pretty good. This man had the shakes real bad. Dad loaned hi

We don’t rejoice over what we have like we rejoice over finding what we lost. I think this is part of our made-in-His-image nature. In other words, it’s a God thing and this is an underlying theme throughout Luke 15. For the sinner who repents there is rejoicing in heaven. Can you imagine it? Heaven rejoiced when you got saved. Heaven threw a party when your mother, father, brother, sister, daughter, son, husband, friend, neighbor got saved! This is who God the Father is. He

I was not much. Skinny, scrawny, a face full of freckles and stringy straight hair. Our family was poor! Our town was small and unknown. But I was of great value. Sought after. Pursued by my Creator. Loved deeply. I do not know the value of the coin in Luke 15:8. There are a number of opinions about the 10 coins that I have read or heard through the years. But I do know it was valuable to this woman who swept, lit a candle and searched diligently. I love it that God chose a

I have suffered great loss in my life. Not more than any other person I’m sure but losing my first love, my first spouse to leukemia was no doubt a great devastating loss. As a young mother with 3 children the loss was all-consuming. Keeping it together each day was nearly impossible without God. Forging a new path alone seemed empty and void of purpose. After time and some healing, finding new love was amazing and wonderful. I could not have known such depths of joy this lov

“…and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” Luke 15:4 Each lost item in Luke 15 is uniquely sought and each declared found. The lost sheep is found by the shepherd who pursues it until he finds it. A lamp is lit and a house diligently swept to find the lost coin. A patient father waits for the return of the lost son. Upon his return it is announced, “my son is found” by a rejoicing father. You have heard the saying that we are all unique like snowflakes and each of

We play a little game at our house.I call it “lost by _____(you fill in the name of the family member) and found by mom!” It’s a fun game. No really, it is. The game begins with the loser in a frantic tizzy looking for a super important item. The game is spontaneous and typically starts just as we are walking out the door to go some place. The lost item is always a must-have item for wherever it is we are going. It could be a glove for a baseball game, a sheet of homework fo