Matthew and Luke both record Jesus’s parable of the Heavenly Banquet. Jesus tells the story of a man who prepared a great feast. When the guests ignore or refuse the invitation, the host tells his servants to go out into the streets and ask the poor, maimed, blind, and lame. I ask myself, “Where am I in this story? Who would I sit beside?”
Where Will You Sit at the Banquet? Read More »
Most of us have longed for home at some point in our lives as we think about that place that is warm and welcoming, where we are wrapped in the comfort of those who love us. But does this longing awaken another longing even deeper in our hearts?
A year after attending Second Baptist for the first time, I am still awed by the love and beauty I experience there every week. I love the people, the music, and the traditions observed there. This is where I am called to worship. Recently, as I looked around me during this time of fellowship, I was reminded of the priestly blessings of Numbers 6:24 -26. And so, as a benediction to 2024 and a blessing for you in 2025, I pray this for my church congregation, my dear friends, my precious family, and all who ‘stumble’ across this message. This blessing is for you.
As I gaze out my kitchen windows while the morning sun begins to inch above the trees on the eastern horizon, I am touched by the melody and the words of Into the Silent Night. As I linger in the morning light that streams through my kitchen windows on this December morning and let the words of this song fill me, I think of the words of Isaiah, “….She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). God is WITH us! He is with me, and He is with you too!
Life is busy for many of us. Perhaps you, too, feel overwhelmed or worn down and bone weary by a ‘to-do’ list that seems to grow longer each day. Sometimes, peace alludes us, and our weary soul cries out, “Where are you, God?”
We don’t always know how our words impact others, but they have worth and power. Simple acts of kindness and friendship may be the encouragement someone else needs to believe in themselves.
I don’t know about you, but as I struggle with decisions, I want clear signposts that say, “You’re on the right track. This is the way to a happy and fulfilled life. This is the door to your dreams—open here.” But our decisions usually aren’t simple; most of the time, there are no signposts. Perhaps, like me, you’re wondering if you – if I – dare to take the less traveled path. Do we even know how to do that? What is the next step?
Pause and Pay Attention Read More »
I see the young man walking down the highway almost a mile before I pass him. I watch him walk with his head down and hunched shoulders as though he expects to arrive without assistance wherever the road takes him. I wonder who he is, where he has been, and if someone somewhere is missing him. My heart aches for him, for those who love him, and for myself and the son who is never far from my thoughts, so as I pass, I pray.
Loving the Lost, Lonely, and Missing Read More »
don’t understand myself. I want to do what is right but do what I hate. I felt regret for not speaking up, struggled with emotions, and prayed for clarity. Despite our heart’s deception, we find worth and grace through God’s love, which understands us better than we do.
Greater Than Our Hearts Read More »
It is a beautiful summer evening, reminiscent of many others: summer evenings in my childhood spent playing on green summer lawns, the breeze flowered with the sweet smell of honeysuckle; summer evenings in my teen years spent perched on the top rail of the fence gazing dreamily at the serene West Texas sunset; and summer evenings in the field sitting on the tailgate of a pickup listening to the drone of an irrigation motor, the lapping of water in the ditch, and the laughter of small boys as they tossed dirt clods into the water.
A Season of Summer Read More »