“The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” Daniel 6:16

How many times have we cried out, “God, where are you?” in times of crisis. Daniel faced just such a crisis. He chose not to bow down to a king because he would only bow to God. God did not rescue him in the midst of the accusations, nor the terrifying prospect of being thrown into the lions den. But in the end, God did show up for Daniel as he was able to walk out of the lions den untouched. Any fear Daniel had along the way was not enough to keep him from serving God.

His Fear Would Not Overpower His Faith

Daniel was indeed rescued. Yet, there are scores of others in the Bible who died for their faith. The great blessing we have in Jesus is that they really did not die, they graduated to eternal life. You see, God has already rescued us through Jesus. Nothing in this life can take that away other than our choice to believe or not believe. In need of rescue today? Throw yourself a life preserver. Call on Jesus.

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

We’ve heard it said often that it’s far better to give than to receive. Such a theme wound through a film released back in the year 2000 called, “Pay it Forward”, which chronicled a 12 year old boy who decided to make the world a better place. He started a movement by doing good deeds, and then asking the recipient to simply “pay it forward” by doing something for someone else. The results were amazing in how the level of good deeds continually multiplied. After the films release, there was a wave of pay it forward living that in many ways changed the world. In essence,

We Should All Live Pay it Forward Lives

In Matthew 25:40 Jesus said that whatever we do for others who have a need, treat it as if we are doing it for Him. This puts a new perspective on the words, love your neighbor. To quote Anne Frank, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

A few years ago my wife and I traveled to Victoria Island in Canada for a leisurely road trip through some of the most spectacular scenery God graced us with on this planet. The trip was meant as a few days to relax and recharge and we took full advantage. One afternoon had been set aside as a spa day, which I highly recommend, although who knew there were that many muscles in the back and shoulders that need loosening up! That evening, completely relaxed while the sun set across the harbor, my mind drifted to one of my favorite old hymns. “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It Is Well With My Soul

Wellness is having the faith to believe Jesus when he said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Take a mental spa day today and let Jesus peace which passes all understanding wash over you. All too soon you will be saying, it is well with my soul.

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.” Psalm 18:2

On my first visit to the famed Alcatraz prison I was struck by the the amazing dichotomy between this cold and isolated island prison surrounded by amazing vistas, and the vibrant city lights of San Francisco just across the bay. Similarly, for various reasons of past hurts and pains, many of us literally live inside isolated island mind prisons of our own making. Simon and Garfunkel speak of such an individual prison in their song, “I am a rock, I am an island”, for as the song says, “a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries”. There is only one way to get off of such an island. Repeat after me,

“The Lord Is My Rock, My Fortress, My Deliverer”

These words come from King David in Psalm 18, a man who new first hand the harsh sting of heartbreak and betrayal. His solution is our solution, turn your focus on God. God never promised us a care free life. What He did promise us was that He would never leave us or forsake us. You need not live isolated in an island mind prison when God is standing right in front of you ready to hand you the keys. Just reach out to Him and accept His promise of release.

God said, “For I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.” Jeremiah 1:12

What would you do if you knew you could not fail? It’s an imposing question and really gets to the heart of having faith in our lives. There are a myriad of scripture verses that point to overcoming the impossible, many of which have been pointed out in these posts in the past few months. Faith on our part comes in when we read Jesus words in Matthew 19:26, where He says,

“With Man It Is Impossible, But With God All Things Are Possible”

This statement from Jesus is further amplified when we let today’s quote from Jeremiah 1:12 sink in to our minds. For God Himself says, “I am active and alert, watching over My word to perform it.” In other words, God means what he says. If He said it, if He promised it, He will be faithful to complete it! So I ask the question again, what would you do if you knew you could not fail?

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1

Many decades ago, at the tender age of ten, my step father came into my life. He was older and had already raised three wonderful boys who were married by the time I came into his life. Above his laughter and his endless good natured teasing, I cherish most the unselfish love he gave to my sister and I who just needed a dad to be there for them. Then one day he came to me and said, you know, it’s up to you but you’re more than welcome to take my name if you’d like. It’s your choice. For me it was a no brainer. This man standing before me,

Loved Me Enough To Let Me Be Called His Own

How much more has our Heavenly Father given to us that we may be called His children. As the song says so well, “amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a soul like me.” Indeed, God’s love covers over our failings and our shortcomings and our wanderings and simply says, welcome home, you are Mine.

“I WAITED patiently for the Lord and He inclined to me; And He heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1

Read through the first third of the 150 chapters in the book of Psalms and a recurring theme quickly emerges; Help Me, Lord! I can relate for I have spent more than my share of time seeking God’s intervention for a very long laundry list of trials. Yet inner mixed with all of his pleadings, David, the author of the Psalms,

Takes Time To Praise God

Then in Psalm 40 David declares, with an all capital letters emphasis, that he WAITED for the Lord and eventually the breakthrough came. The breakthrough did not come in David’s desired timing but in God’s perfect timing. Sometimes we have to stand at the crosswalk and wait longer than we’d like. At such times we need to find the inner courage to praise God, anyway!

God said, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand.” Jeremiah 18:6

One of the most interesting movies ever made was the 1999 blockbuster called “The Matrix”. The concept was that the world we are living in is really one large computer construct and our lives are an illusion created by a master computer being. I contrast that with our actual world and see the love that God has for us. He created us, then immediately gave to us a remarkable freedom. He gave to us free will. We can choose the life we wish to lead. We can choose faith, or we can choose not to believe. Yet something remarkable happens when we chose faith. We have this incredible opportunity to,

Have Our Lives Shaped By Our Creator

Over and over again in scripture, God says, if we will let Him, He will mold us, and shape us, and use us in remarkable ways we never thought possible. As the old Hymn from my childhood says, “Have Thine own way Lord, have Thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me, after Thy will. While I am waiting, yielded and still”

“Arise, shine; For your light has come!” Isaiah 60:1

Our beloved and dreaded bi-annual daylight savings time change recently took place as we moved our clocks forward. I say beloved as we all seem to love the extra daylight in the early evening, and dreaded as most of us now have to wake up while it’s still dark. My wife has always been an early riser, so this morning, before my eyes even opened I asked her, “is the sun up yet?” She opened the curtain to reveal that the sky was just beginning to provide it’s pre-dawn light show.

It’s Time To Rise!

We rise for many things in life. We rise to the occasion, and to meet our calling, and to be a better version of ourselves. God says to us in Isaiah 60 to “arise and shine” for He has given us a reason to do so. In this verse He’s foretelling the coming of Jesus who is the light of the world. God further says, “The Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you,” meaning that as we let Jesus shine through us the world around us will indeed become a better and more hope filled place. Every new sunrise should remind us to let the SON-rise in us. You become the great hope for all humanity each day when you arise and shine and give God all the glory!

“Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.” Isaiah 40:4

I’ll never forget taking my nephew on my favorite wooden roller coaster, “Mister Twister” at the original Elich Gardens in Denver. He was barely tall enough for the crew to let him ride with my best friend and I, and he was a ball of nervous excitement as we waited twenty minutes to board. He also spent the entire twenty minutes trying to talk himself out of taking the ride, but each time I asked if he wanted to back out, he nervously shook his head no, so on we waited. Once on board he gripped the lap bar with an iron grip and let out a nervous throat clear as the car lurched forward. The first climb seemed to take for ever as he kept looking at me for reassurance. Then we crested the hill and a scream burst forth from his lips, soon followed by a massive smile. By the end of the ride his arms were straight up in the air. The fear was gone! For my nephew,

The Peaks And Valleys Had Been Leveled!

Our lives are very much like a roller coaster, with highs and lows, slow ascents, and all too often, rapid descents, all while we nervously hang on for dear life. Isaiah 40 foretells the coming of Jesus, and speaks poetically of valleys being raised and mountains being leveled. In truth that’s exactly what Christ has done for us. What have we to fear for God has shown to us in Christ who He is, that He is our Savior, our Advocate, our Provider, and our Healer! Peaks and valleys in our lives only have the power we decide that they do for Christ has removed the barriers. We just need exercise our faith, throw our hands in the air, smile, and enjoy the ride, knowing Jesus has already conquered whatever we face in life.