Standing in a batting cage, your heart starts racing when that faceless pitching machine begins launching SAM (surface-to-me) baseball missiles at your ill-prepared sense of timing.  One after another, here they come, ready or not.   Email had a similar effect on me today when it delivered the bad news that yet another friend has cancer.  They say the number of new cases is declining, but if your family has been touched by this dreaded disease, one is one too many.   When you hear “shadow,” you’d rather it come from your photographer than your physician.  But best of all, from that Old Testament songwriter:   “Whoever goes to the Lord for safety remains under the shadow of the Almighty and can say to Him, ‘You are my defender and protector; You are my God; in You I trust.’  He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases.  He will cover you with His wings; you will be safe in His care.”   Next time you’re thrown a killer curve, where will you turn for safety?”     “God says, ‘I will save those who love me and protect those who acknowledge me as Lord. When they call me, I will answer them; when they are in trouble, I will be with them.  I will rescue them and honor them.  I will reward them with long life; I will save them.”  Psalm 91:14-16   “Even in my suffering I was comforted because Your promise gave me life.”  Psalm 119:50   Posted January 31, 2020

“Is there any of you who is wise and understanding?”  The setting could be Gasworks Park in Seattle.  The audience is consummately diverse.  Business types wearing “casual Friday.”  Students with backpacks.  A scattering of pup tents, grocery carts and their transient residents.   Standing in their midst is a late 20-something man.  The cut of his jib is ordinary.  But his dancing eyes and commanding composure have you waiting for his answer to his question.   A few hands go up, likely in sarcasm, implying, “Okay, smart guy.  I s’pose you have a corner on the mental market.  What’s your point?”   Our moderator makes room for a long, pregnant pause.  Then continues. “You are to prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom.  But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter and selfish, …  such wisdom does not come down from heaven.”   What filters will you trust in 2020 to wisely determine what is real and what isn’t?   “The wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy.  And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.”  James 3:16-18   Posted January 14, 2020

“Oh, by gosh, by golly, It’s time for mistletoe and holly.”   This season may be for you, as Dickens wrote, “the best of times.”  You have a job, there’s harmony at home, and you’re in good health.  But sadly for others it’s “the worst of times,” wracked by shattered dreams, plagued by infirmity, with no hope.   Long ago a young couple found themselves in a strange, humanly inexplicable dilemma.  He was a typical, hard-working guy, headed for a bland, anonymous existence in a dusty, backwater village.  His heart belonged to a quiet lass, with child and in her early teens, about to be his bride. Hardly candidates for “The Bachelorette.” No honeymooning at a 5-star resort in the Greek islands.  No, they settled for a manger.   Surely, this was the worst of times.  But their story gets even worse before it rises to heights loftier than even the best of times.  Stay tuned, world!    Where are you in this epic drama?     “Today in the City of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  Luke 2:11,12   Posted December 31, 2019

Do you know the origin of Black Friday?  In today’s contentious climate it could be a dog whistle, triggering who-knows-what. But it’s a marketing ploy -- the day of the year when a retailer goes from red P&L numbers to profitable black ones.  Black Friday is positive, not pejorative.  Sellers rake in a windfall; shoppers pocket the year’s best deals.   Another famous Friday has an equally confusing name.  Good Friday commemorates history’s most heinous act:  nailing our own Creator to a wooden cross, left naked and bleeding to die a hideous death.  Yet, ironically, Good Friday marks mankind’s most profitable transaction, i.e., trading our sins for God’s forgiveness.   Attention, shoppers! Is this Blue Light Special in your shopping cart today?  Sale ends soon.   “For sin pays its wage – death, but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23 Posted December 13, 2019

Summer’s soothing warmth and blue skies play hide’n’seek this time each year.  Neighbors escape to sunnier climes and rub it in on Facebook or text a smiling selfie from some sandy beach. But what’s so bad about clouds?    When Moses and his friends roamed the Arabian wilderness, the Lord went ahead of them in a cloud to guide them.  After He rose from the dead, Jesus ascended to heaven in a cloud.  And any day now, when He returns to transport His followers to heaven, He will meet us in the clouds. Next time you’re teased about our clouds, remember, God often hangs out in them.   Are you planning to join Jesus in the clouds?  Have you gone through early check-in to confirm your reservation?     “Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will always be with the Lord.  So then, encourage one another with these words."  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18   Posted December 1, 2019

How many times have you written or spoken “November?” Do you know its history? About 1200 A.D. the French came up with Novembre. Novem- is Latin for “nine.” It stood for the ninth month of the Roman calendar which had only ten months. (No doubt those crazy Romans wanted to rush their New Year’s partying two months sooner.) Such a backpack of information, stuffed into a single word. Like November. What comes to mind when your name comes up? The ancient prophet heard God say, “Do not be afraid because I have reclaimed you. I have called you by name; you are Mine.”

Folklore in Ireland tells of a blacksmith named Jack who’s waiting at the pearly gates. Denied admittance, he hollows out a turnip and places a burning coal ember in it for a lamp to light the way in search of a final home.  When the Irish came to America during the potato famine of the mid-19th century, they swapped turnips for pumpkins and carved scary faces on them.  With a name like “Jack O’Lantern,” you knew the Irish were involved somehow.   As you carve your pumpkin this month, follow Broadway’s pop prescription:   “Gray skies are gonna clear up; Put on a happy face.”   Graham Cooke recalls hearing someone tell his grumpy friend to “Die quietly.  Nobody likes to hear you scream.”   Better still is the Old Testament’s admonition to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”  That’s hard to do masked by a frown.  So, if you’re happy, tell your face!   What gives you joy today?  Real joy?     “The LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.”   Numbers 6:25-26   Posted November 1, 2019

Redwoods can top out at 400 feet and live 2,000 years. But they’re saplings alongside a certain Great Basin bristlecone pine in California’s White Mountains. Dubbed “the oldest-known living tree in the world,” Methuselah is 4,851 years old.   If these old-timers could talk, they’d tell about discovering fire, inventing the wheel, generating electricity and countless other breakthroughs. Yet no Einstein equals the wisdom of the Creator who made those seedlings eons ago.   That Creator compared His kingdom to a tiny mustard seed that grows up to be a tree where birds make their home. That seed is the news that Jesus Christ, who spoke the universe into existence, proved His love for us by dying on a tree for us. And He offers us permanent refuge in the safety of His strong arms.   Upon whose reliable branches are you nesting?     ”Not one sparrow … can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t worry! You are more valuable to him than many sparrows.”  Matthew 10:29-31   Posted on October 14, 2019

Debuting in 1938 in a Broadway musical, “September Song” put a few more coins in the pockets of Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra.  Its lyrics liken a calendar year to one’s life span:   “It’s a long, long while from May to December, But the days grow short when you reach September. When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame, One hasn’t got time for the waiting game.”   Procrastination or, as my mother put it, “a hard head” describes those who delay putting their trust in Jesus Christ’s payment on the cross for our sin.  Like a driver careening down a mountain, unaware that he won’t survive the next curve at this speed, many refuse to admit and act on their need for a Savior.   The Bible calls today “the day of salvation,” the day for a soft heart, not a hard head.    “These few precious days I’ll spend with you.”   Will September be your time to sing that sweet, sweet song of salvation?     “You’ll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to You. …  You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight.”  Psalm 5:11-12 The Message   Posted September 30, 2019

In 1300 the word labor meant a task or project.  It came to also signify trouble, hardship, pain and fatigue.  The word entitle soon surfaced to describe the act of naming a chapter or a book.  A century later it defined giving someone claim to a possession or privilege.   You don’t work free because your employer deserves your labor. You earn your paycheck; it’s not an entitlement.   On a far more cosmic scale Paul of Tarsus wrote this to the citizens and slaves in 1st century Rome:   “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   Have you accepted that gift, God’s labor of love, which we cannot earn and do not deserve?     “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works so that no one can boast.  Ephesians 2:8,9   Posted September 15, 2019

WHY do we seem to have more questions than answers?  We flock to those who say what we want to hear.  We read the books they write and sing their songs.  WHICH questions do they answer for us?  WHAT do they tell us about ourselves, about our purpose for taking up shelf space?  WHO are they?  HOW does their influence affect us?    Let’s hear from one who mistook the Messiah for his menace:   “For the message about Christ’s death on the cross  is nonsense to those who are being lost; but for us who are being saved, it is God’s power.”   Is He the One to WHOM you turn to answer your deepest questions?   “God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and He chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful. …But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom.  By Him we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free.”  1 Corinthians 1:29-30   Posted September 1, 2019

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Bill Shakespeare’s saga of love, jealousy and marriage in Athens, boasts some classic lines:   “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”  Earlier the apostle Paul wrote to Greeks in Corinth, upstaging the bard, saying, “The message about Christ’s death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost, but for us who are being saved, it is God’s power. … God has shown that this world’s wisdom is foolishness.”   “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Jesus promised His followers, “In the world you’ll have trouble, but cheer up!  I’ve overcome the world.” “My soul is in the sky.”  Paul informs believers, “We are citizens of heaven. We look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ coming from heaven as our Savior.”   The worth of citizenship is in dispute today, but  “Where were you born?” is not the issue. It’s “Have you been born again?”   Have you?     “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms … I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”  John 14:1-3   Posted July 29, 2019

Thirty-nine years ago I was flying to the South to say goodbye to my dad.    We had not seen each other for fourteen years following my wedding and college graduation.  Divorce hit us hard as I entered high school, and Dad did not see his only grandchildren until we reconciled when they were 16, 15 and 10.   Because he had lymphoma, this would be our last visit.   Two years earlier I was thrilled to hear him say that as a teenager he had asked Jesus Christ to be his Savior.  The Manufacturer’s Handbook guarantees that this act of faith on our part triggers God’s promises to keep us in His care from now throughout eternity.   Dad slipped into heaven before I arrived, but based on those promises, there’ll be eons to make up for lost time.   What sort of reunion are you and your family planning?     “’Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’  They answered, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your family.’”  Acts 16:30   Posted July 15, 2019

Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow, a mystery.  Today is a gift.  That’s why we call it the present.   Dwelling on the past can shackle you to situations which you're powerless to improve or delete.  Sparky Anderson, baseball’s first manager to win a World Series in both leagues, said of living in the past, “There’s no future in it.”   Focusing on your tomorrows can arouse anxiety or hope.  Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom wisely stated, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown to a known God.”   Are you anxious or hopeful about the future?  Based on what?     “The faithful love of the Lord never ends!  His mercies never cease.  Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.”  Lamentations 3:22,23 Posted July 1, 2019

We’re finally taping our memories of marriage and family events.  Perhaps we’re answering questions our offspring would never ask, but as Zig Ziglar said, “If you ask your parents these questions, you’ll be glad you did.  If you don’t, you’ll wish you had.” These are suggested by our friend, Bob Tiede: 1.  What are your favorite memories of being with your parents/grandparents? 2.  What did you discover about yourself in grade school? 3.  What did you and your best friend in high school like to do together? 4.  What kind of trouble did you get into at home or school? 5.  Growing up, what did you want to be? 6.  What was your first, out-of-home job? 7.  What first attracted you to your life’s mate? 8.  What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done? 9.  What in life are you most proud of/grateful for? 10.  What’s important to you about God, and how did you learn that? Will you look for an opportunity to ask (and record) this Q&A, and then share it with family and special friends? “Honor your father and mother – which is the first commandment with a promise – that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”  Ephesians 6:2-3 Posted June 17, 2019

Truth be told, if it were up to us men to keep our planet populated … there’s no way!

Is there no oasis of optimism where we can find refreshment?   In a distant land where hateful prejudice is baked into the culture, a nameless woman stands at an ancient well in the searing, midday heat, drawing her day’s supply of water.  A stranger surprisingly asks her for a drink. She’s a woman, a second-class gender, a Gentile at that.  And he’s a Jew.    To her amazement, he says if she knew who he was and would but ask, he’d give her water that would slake her thirst forever. Without hesitation she responds, “Sir, give me that water!”    She didn’t have to look far to find Good News.  It was right there, in her dusty, daily rounds, not where you’d normally go to meet your Maker.  Meetings like this can happen anywhere, any time, even now.   Have you asked Jesus for a thirst-ending drink?     “… those who drink the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give them will become in them a spring which will provide them with life-giving water and give them eternal life.”  John 4:14   Posted May 14, 2019

About 800 B.C. Homer wrote his iconic Odyssey about mythical King Odysseus who leaves home to fight in the Trojan War. Mentor is the counselor’s name to whom he assigns the task of raising his son in his absence. This tutor’s name identifies a type of coaching said to be “the third most powerful relationship for influencing human behavior after marriage and the extended family.” Paul of the New Testament charged his young mentee, “Timothy, keep safe what has been entrusted to your care. Avoid the profane talk and foolish arguments of what some people wrongly call ‘knowledge.’ For some have claimed to possess it, and as a result they have lost the way of faith.” Who is your mentor? Whom are you mentoring? What “knowledge” is being transferred and kept safe? “…the time is here for me to leave this life. I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith. And now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day – and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for Him to appear.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8

“All the lonely people. Where do they all come from?” There are 330 million of us in this country now, and thousands more each day. Yet for many of us there aren’t enough to dispel the deep pain of being alone and friendless. Will this sinkhole ever be filled with love? Hanging there, spiked through His hands and feet, the bleeding target of heartless haters … No one came to the rescue of this, the loneliest man who ever lived. He died for our sins, taking our place on that horrid altar. Elvis asked, “Are you lonesome tonight?” Sam Cooke mourned, “Another Saturday night, and I ain’t got nobody.” The Everly Brothers pined, “When will I be loved?” The answer is “You were loved, on that cross.” Love’s ultimate gift, purchased for you with the life of God’s Son. He knows loneliness. Your long and winding road will take you to His door where He hands you the key of faith and invites you in. Into whose emptiness can you offer this Love and hope today? “The Lord Himself will lead you and be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you, so do not lose courage or be afraid.” Deuteronomy 31:8

The very first addition to our Constitution grants the right to express ourselves freely without government interference. It’s one of twenty-seven amendments upon which our freedom is established. President Coolidge said, “The more I study the Constitution, the more I realize that no other document devised by the hand of man has brought so much progress and happiness to humanity.” But look around. Does America seem happy or depressed? What would happen to your restlessness if you frequently recalled that while the world may seem to be out of control, nothing is out of God’s control? “Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Sometime when you’re tempted to binge-watch “The Simpsons,” reach for a pencil instead. Jot down the names of five people who have had a positive impact on you? How would your life be different if they had never been born? We know about the “No Vacancy” sign at the Bethlehem Holiday Inn. When Gabriel told young Mary that she’d bear a son, what if she and Joseph had said, “No, thank you?” How would your life be different if that baby had not been born? “I am here with good news for you which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David’s town your Savior was born – Christ the Lord! And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:10-11

Rage has reached epidemic proportions in our country today. We seem to have plenty to be mad about. But, honestly, do we really expect anybody to be perfect? Who among us is without sin? The Bible says God knows you intimately, even your every thought, before you think or speak. He never stops thinking of you, loving you so much that, to pardon all of your sins, He had His Son crucified. This is the most profound truth: God is mad about you, not at you. “If God is for you, who can be against you? Certainly not God …” Romans 8:31-32

Their 5-year-old daughter has a hole in her heart.  Imagine her parents’ anguish as two surgeons from the University of Minnesota explain what’s next.   Wrapped in a special blanket to lower her body temp to 81 degrees, she’ll need less oxygen.  The anesthetic gives the O.R. team up to ten full minutes for the procedure.   The clock starts as the doctors open the chest, block the blood flow into the heart, do the repair and sew up the hole.  A warm bath returns her body temp to normal. Success!  It’s September 2, 1952 … the world’s first open heart surgery.   Imagine the weight lifted from those parents.  Jesus said, “Don’t let your heart be troubled.  You believe in God the Father; then believe in me also.”   Do you believe in Him?      “My health fails; my spirits droop, yet God remains! He is the strength of my heart; He is mine forever!”   Psalm 73:26   Posted February 15, 2019

Life is filled with distractions. Maybe even most of life. List 10 things you want to accomplish in the next 12 months. Now whittle that down to just 3 goals. Eliminate 2 of those, and there’s your #1 task for the year. What could keep you from achieving it? List 10 such hindrances. (That shouldn’t be hard!) Shrink them down to 3. Now delete 2. There it is -- the landmine which, as far as you know, is most likely to spoil what you most want to happen. Would you agree that the quality of your next year depends largely on how you deal with distractions? "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way. Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong.” Proverbs 3:5-7

Gray clouds press in on my window.  Their soggy fingerprints blur the Olympic Mountains which, for now, are hiding across the murky Puget Sound.  I’m enveloped in grayness.  It prompts a question:  What lacks taste, color and shape but is the most prevalent molecule in existence?   If you answered, “Water,” good on you.  The Carpenter from Nazareth transformed water into fine wine.  And He told the woman at the well, “Those who drink this water will thirst again, but those who drink the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again.  The water I give them will become in them a spring which will provide them with life-giving water and give them eternal life.”   Jesus’ friend, John, was given a larger-than-Imax vision of the New Heaven and the New Earth in which he sees the Lord say, “To anyone who is thirsty I will give the right to drink from the spring of the water of life without paying for it.. … I will be their God, and they will be My children.”    Here’s a question from the Good Shepherd who longs to lead you by still waters:   “Thirsty?”   “… Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, ‘Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and whoever believes in Me should drink …”  John 7:37-38   Posted January 14, 2019

In this festive season as you wrap and unwrap those colorful expressions of affection, here’s a thought.  Why not unwrap a broken relationship and re-wrap it in healing words of LOVE?  Someone you know is struggling with loss or fear.  Here’s a roll of JOY to place around their drooping shoulders.  One of your friends is overcome with stress, longing to be enfolded in a shawl of PEACE.   This trio of LOVE, JOY and PEACE is packaged with PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF-CONTROL.  You may recognize these as “the fruit of the Holy Spirit.”  Harry & David ship their nutritious delights monthly, but these flavors of the very nature of God are instantly accessible for you to give to family, friends, co-workers and strangers whom you encounter daily.   Could you picture yourself operating a fruit stand, freely handing out an endless array of fresh reminders of the gift of God’s love and forgiveness?   “Every good gift and every perfect present comes from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change...”  James 1:17 Posted January 1, 2019

In 1972 we were singing along with Bill Withers … “You just call on me, brother, when you need a hand. We all need somebody to lean on.”   Are you banking on wealth, health, yourself or others?  Eventually all will disappoint, except One … Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way.  Never think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong …  If you do, it will be like good medicine, healing your wounds and easing your pains.   Are you sure of where you’ve placed your trust?   “There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.”  Philippians 1:6 Posted December 16, 2018

It was the fall of ’79.  Those fabled, Stargellian Pirates sailed past Montreal, Cincinnati and Baltimore to capture their fifth World Series crown.  Remember the Bucs’ signature song?  #1 on the R&B charts, it was Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” appealing to “my brothers, my sisters and me” to “get up, everybody, and sing.”   Getting the whole gang together has become nearly impossible.  The family table has skidded from “endangered species” to “extinct.”  It struggles to resurface on certain holidays, but political correctness has laid so many verbal land mines which can clear-cut whole forests of family trees.   What about saying grace?  Whatever happened to “the family that prays together?”  Will mentioning “our Father” offend or step on someone’s “rights?”   When Jesus summarized His Father’s message to us in a single sentence, did He intend for our relatives to be among those “neighbors” whom we’re to love?  That stripe of love is patient, kind, humble, generous, content, non-judgmental.  You know, all the things that you and I by nature are not.  But Jesus is.   Next time you take a seat at your family table, will you recall how much God loves you, then tell your face to reflect that love when you say, “Please pass the gravy?”     “I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains – but if I have no love, I am nothing.”  1 Corinthians 13:2-3   Posted November 30, 2018

In 1914 one of poetry’s most beloved achievements was published. It begins….   I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. It was penned by Joyce Kilmer who, as an Army intelligence officer in Europe, was slain by a sniper in 1918. His love of the Creator’s handiwork lingers a century later.   A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; Civilization is framed by two trees. Eve and Adam disobeyed God’s warning to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Their sin, inherited by us, prompted God to dramatically demonstrate His love for you and me on a wooden cross. If Kilmer’s gift for bringing trees to life could give voice to these trees, what would they reveal?   Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. As we marvel at these magnificent, ever-changing, forested festivals, may we dedicate some of their oxygen to give thanks to the brilliant Mind Who invented trees.   Will you consider turning over a new leaf today to thank God for the tree that makes it possible for you to live in the protective shade of His love forever?   “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.”  Psalm 1:1-3 Posted November 2, 2018

What do Johnny Carson and Pontius Pilate have in common?  (Hint:  It’s not Nebraska.)  Carson gained fame hosting “Who Do You Trust.” Pilate secured his place in history by asking Jesus, “What is truth?”   Precious, lifelong relationships are taking sides on various issues, risking collapse.  Is resolution possible?  The psalmist wrote, “There is nothing a good person can do when everything falls apart.  The Lord … watches people everywhere and knows what they are doing.”   Is ours an honest quest for truth?  Jesus declares, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”  Not “What is truth” -- the real question is “Who is Truth?”   What’s your answer?   “You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.”  John 8:32   Posted October 15, 2018

It’s getting dicey to distinguish between what's real and what isn’t. Why even “artificial intelligence” is no longer an oxymoron!   Some folks claim they’ve been to heaven and back. But has anybody ever been to hell and back?  Yuma, yes, but hell, no.   Are angels and demons really duking it out in the skies all around us?  C’mon, Jonah actually survived a cruise in a whale’s belly?  Spleen that!  And are we to believe that the sea cleared a dry path for millions of refugees to flee Egypt?  Then there’s the “miracle” of feeding thousands out of one kid’s happy meal. Oh, and the biggest stretch of all – God is born in a baby’s body, thanks to divine intervention, is crucified, escapes the tomb and goes back to heaven, promising to return and take His followers to be forever with Him.   Preposterous?  Sure, if you use human logic to explain the supernatural. Could it be that what we lack to close this gap is FAITH? The kind of faith which comes only as a gift, not a reward. Have you unwrapped your gift of faith? “For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.”  Ephesians 2:8   Posted September 30, 2018

Seattle is not a city.  It’s a state.  A state of mind.  As Perry Como sang in his 1969 hit,   The bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle. And the hills the greenest green in Seattle. Like a beautiful child growing up free and wild Full of hopes and full of fears Full of laughter, full of tears Full of dreams to last the years In Seattle.   Another city sounds too good to be true.  It will appear at the end of time as we know it.  It was first “seen” in the mind of Jesus Christ’s close friend, John.  Called “the holy city,” “the city of God” and “the new Jerusalem,” it will descend from above and become heaven on a “new” earth, since today’s earth will have been completely demolished and recreated.   This miraculous metropolis will be cube-shaped, 1,400 miles on a side.  With 12-foot ceilings, it would be 600,000 stories tall, stretching from Canada to Mexico and from California to the Appalachians.  Spacious enough for billions – with a b – of residents.   This city is not a state of mind.  It will be a sin- and illness-free reality.  What will qualify you to legally reside in this holy city that’s full of hopes, laughter and dreams to last an eternity?   Posted August 14, 2018

Feeling “under the weather?”  His mortgage is “under water.”  It’s hard to buy a home in Seattle for “under half a million.”   Undernourished.  Underappreciated.  Underfunded.  It seems as if under is not where you want to be.  It connotes inadequacy, less than desirable.   But consider this star-spangled exception, written in 1887 by Rear Admiral George Balch.  Revised five years later by Francis Bellamy, this gleaming assertion of love and loyalty was adopted by Congress in 1942.  Want to say it with me?   “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”   Woops, we overlooked one “under.”   In 1954 one magnificent phrase was added:   “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”   Only those under His banner, under His pledge of protection will experience God’s gift of everlasting liberty and justice.  Are we, as a nation, under God?  Are you? Posted July 15, 2018

How close are/were you to your father?  How does he shape your self-image and choices? Did he gravitate to or away from you?  Was he a tyrant, a benevolent dictator or your cheerleader? Madonna hopes her “Papa Don’t Preach.”  Eric Clapton never saw “My Father’s Eyes.”  The Boss recalls “My Father’s Home.”  John Mayer urges dads to “be good to your ‘Daughters.’”  Luther Vandross aches to “Dance with my Father” again.  Beyonce adores “Daddy,” “the man in my life who can’t be replaced.”  He was rarely around and never said he loved her, but Reba McEntyre honors “The Greatest Man I Ever Knew.”  Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s In The Cradle” describes my own Dad’s good intentions to “get together then.” The “prodigal son” depicts God’s ideal father as generous, patient and unconditionally loving.  Indeed, God loves us so much that He sent His only Son from heaven to die for your sins and mine so that we could live with God both here and in heaven.   Have you invited God the Father to permanently adopt you as His son?   Posted July 1, 2018

From the warm, swaying surf of Kealakekua To the mountainous big skies ‘round Missoula From the boulders that guard the shores of Maine To the bluebell explosion on the hot Texas plain There’s much to love about this land, our liberty and our Lord.   In a nation that opens its arms to the world We lie vulnerable to cultural confusion. Such conflicting beliefs, can we hope for relief, Or is “one nation under God” an illusion? Yet, so much to love about this land, our liberty and our Lord.   When our Anthem is played and our flag passes by, Do we rise as one big family to attention? Does blood spilled for freedom bring a tear to our eyes, Or has respect been replaced by dissension? Still, much to love about this land, our liberty and our Lord.   My country, ‘tis of Thee, sweet land of liberty May we always be free, under God, don’t you see?   Posted June 12, 2018

T.S. Eliot ponders, “If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” This time of year life’s moments can tailgate, collide and stack up like the freeway at rush hour.  We’re celebrating graduations, engagements and weddings.  First-time parents are announcing the gender of their pre-born “womb mates.” And, oh yes, some of us are finally aging.   Life contains both highs and lows.  It’s a package deal – you can’t have one without the other. By the way, how are you coping?   Paul can relate. He experienced both extreme suffering (to the point of being beheaded by Caesar) as well as extreme success. His secret sauce:  “I can face anything because Jesus Christ is my strength.”   Like I said, how are you coping?   Posted May 28, 2018

Why are you living at this time in history, on this spot on our planet?  There must be a good reason since design and purpose are embedded in every element of our universe.  Jupiter’s gravity shields us from careening asteroids.  Our precise distance from the sun keeps our water from vaporizing or freezing, making life possible.   Now back to you.  What can you do to make your small corner of the world better off than how you found it?  If that’s too daunting, let’s dial it back a bit, shall we?   St. Paul says God chose to be your Friend because His Son Jesus took your place and mine on the cross as payment for our sins.    So, why are you alive at this time and in this place?  Try this on for size.  God has carefully placed you right where you are and is pulling for you to accept His love by wrapping your arms of faith around Him.  And He has positioned you to invite someone else to do the same.   Could this be God’s design for your highest and best use?   Posted May 15, 2018

Just like melting butter slithers across the crest of a steaming stack at IHOP, our days run together, unnoticed, then disappear. In a flash another week has slipped away. And birthdays, oh my, they rush up to you quicker now than an Edwin Diaz fastball. When we were kids, time moved like a snail. There must have been at least forty-eight hours in a day! We couldn’t wait to be bigger, older and independent. Well, now we have all three, perhaps too much of each.

When and how April Fools Day was birthed is too murky to be dogmatic.  It’s an occasion to pull pranks that reveal our gullibility to believe almost anything.   Clever admakers seize this day to poke fun and fuel their bottom line.  Ikea is starting its own airline, naming it Flikea.  Dating dynamo eHarmony, with tongue-in-cheek, promotes a new app that literally drags singles to each other with a magnet.   Silliness is honored by the annual Darwin Awards, heralding acts of utter stupidity that demonstrate reverse human evolution.  It’s often presented posthumously.   We have a plethora of synonyms for the word fool.  There’s cretin, moron, ignoramus, ditz, bozo, knuckle-dragger. But tempting as they are, the shepherd-boy-who-became-King opted for the less derogatory, yet sadly descriptive “fool.”   David wrote a psalm which begins, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”   Do you know anyone who’s been April Fooled into actually believing that? Posted April 13, 2018

Here on the 47th Parallel the sunlit hours are increasing by the day, predictably bringing smiles to wintry-worn faces who’ve had all the soggy they can handle, thank you very much!   One out of five Americans experiences Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) every winter. A wellness expert says sunlight has a greater impact on mental health than any other weather phenomenon. You’d think hurricanes and tsunamis might top that list!   Less sun, more gloom.  Not exactly breaking news.  John Denver testified that sunshine on his shoulders made him happy.   Will tomorrow morning’s weather be a good barometer of your disposition that day?  There’s a 100 percent chance that the One who creates the weather is reliably changeless.  What’s more, He knows your name and is crazy-in-love with you!  This all-weather Savior wants you to spend the rest of your existence in the warmth of His “Son-light.”   Did you know that even before He spoke the world into existence, Jesus had already taken a shine to you? Posted March 29, 2018

Ralph Waldo Emerson is remembered for asking friends whom he hadn’t seen for a while, “What has become clear to you since we last met?” Do you squander precious “think time” rehearsing your doubts? Would it not be more constructive to concentrate on what you’re certain of?

Mata Hari, the most famous undercover agent of all time, spied for Germany in World War 1. In 1953 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for peddling U.S. secrets to the Communists. In 1985 Aldrich Ames, a CIA operative, turned over American documents to Russia and got a life sentence. Is it fair for God to surveil us? Many centuries ago Moses sent spies on ahead to assess the difficulty of taking possession of their promised land, today’s Israel.

For 200 years the stethoscope has been used to listen for an irregular heartbeat, a murmur or a clogged blood vessel. With electrocardiograms we can now see as well as hear the heart.   Early Egyptians regarded the human heart to be the source of the soul. During mummification they tossed the brain but preserved the heart. Not until the Renaissance was it established that the heart’s sole purpose is to pump blood. From Valentines, appearing first in the 17th century, to emojis, the language of the heart has become the language of love.   History’s best-selling book states, “The heart is the most deceitful of all things.” It recommends, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and don’t rely on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way.”   Upon what or whom are you relying to discover the right way? Posted February 13, 2018

Why does it seem that a disproportionate amount of today’s public discourse is devoted to disparaging others? Even the briefest foray into the mass media or a casual conversation with friends yields exaggerated name-calling and judgmental criticism of what someone said, did, looks like or stands for. Remember the question, “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye?” One guilty of this has earned the job title of “hypocrite.” The early Greeks coined this word to describe a “deficiency in the ability to decide.” Those classy Greeks took the high road, didn’t they!

As you wait in the grocery checkout line, corporate forces commandeer those few seconds to tease you into making an unplanned decision. Using market research, they know what visual triggers will lure you to add a tabloid or a treat to your shopping basket. You are their deer in the headlights. You are an “impulse buyer!” Suddenly, even imperceptibly, you have incubated an unpremeditated feeling that, like the borning of a butterfly, morphed into a desire, then a decision and, finally, an action that was certainly not why you went to the store.

All year that corner lot lies dormant, seemingly worthless.  But as temperatures drop like your holiday bank balance, that lonesome lot comes to life with purpose, value and visibility. Suddenly it’s populated with a forest of Christmas trees and signs that shout, “Don’t wait too late to decorate!”   CHRIST – mas –tree   It was “mas” – “My Awful Sins” that drove God’s Son to that cruel, cross-shaped tree where He took all our sins so that you and I can be completely, forever forgiven!   When you, by faith, accept God’s pardon, the “mas” in “CHRISTmas tree” explodes with new meaning:  “mas” – “My Amazing Salvation!”   Whenever you see a Christmas tree, will you remember this?  God has erased your awful sins and offers you amazing salvation. Posted December 31, 2017

Right now you are thinking three times faster than you are reading. Your brain’s 100 billion nerve cells are linked with trillions of connections, called synapses, transmitting up to 1,000 signals per second.     This, say the deep thinkers at M.I.T., produces thoughts.  As fast as one thought every 1.2 seconds. This, in large part, is what makes us human. But are thoughts merely electro-chemical reactions?  Are we slaves to neuroscience, or can we control our mental activity?   The Bible’s writers have a few thoughts about this:   “Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing and perfect.”   “Keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable or commendable.”   “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”   What’s on your mind these days? Posted December 15, 2017

“Unmasking” is currently having its 15 minutes of fame.  Until recent news stories revealed names of political operatives having supposedly secure conversations, the only unmasking many knew of was when bad hombres tried to rip the one from the Lone Ranger’s face.    We’re drawn to a speaker who knows infinitely more than he’s saying..   Bible writer Paul confesses, “God sent me to tell the Good News without using the language of human wisdom in order to make sure that Christ’s death on the cross is not robbed of its power. …For God in His wisdom made it impossible for people to know Him by means of their own wisdom.  Instead, by means of the so-called ‘foolish’ message we preach, God decided to save those who believe.”     What’s Paul saying?  Maybe something like … “If God were to unmask everything He wants us to see and know, it would take forever.  So, He opens the hood just enough to prove that there’s an engine, thereby giving us enough to go on so that, by faith, we can trust His power to take us where there will be no more masks.   Jesus once asked, “Who do people say that I am?”    What’s your answer to “Who is that masked Man?” Posted October 31, 2017

October 1st is the anniversary of Yosemite National Park, Stanford University, Ford’s Model T, People’s Republic of China, Disney World and the first CD player. Sadly, it will also be remembered for the deadliest-ever mass shooting in modern U.S. history. At this writing some 60 lives were snuffed out by a lone lunatic who showered a concert crowd with a blizzard of bullets. More than 500 are hospitalized, many of whom may never make it home again. Couldn’t an all-powerful God have prevented this? What kind of sinister monster or twisted worldview inflicted this horror?

Millions of Americans are heartbroken, trying to rebuild their lives after being ravaged by hurricanes and flooding.  Meanwhile, Seattle just ended a 55-day dry spell.  If only it could’ve given Texas, Louisiana and Florida a few of those days.  But there must have been a different plan.   Just as a loving, mature parent does not shield his/her child from every painful experience, the God who loves us and gave us the gift of making our own choices will sometimes, in His wisdom, allow what He, with His power, could prevent.   Some 4,500 years ago, after rain had fallen for 40 days with no let up, causing a worldwide flood that lasted 12 months and 11 days, God told an ancient mariner named Noah, “Never again will all living beings be destroyed by a flood … As a sign of this everlasting promise, I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds.”   Despite hurricane-caused calamities, many who felt their blows have now chosen to trust Jesus Christ who promised to walk with His followers through every valley.  He who turns heaven’s faucets on and off truly is our only Hope.  He knows your name, has crazy-love for you and wants to have an intimate relationship with you forever!    Need proof? How about a rainbow and a cross? Posted October 3, 2017