Love God and Love People Several years ago songwriter Derric Johnson wrote a musical about marriage. In it was a song containing this verse: Love is something that’s real; love is something that’s true; love is something you feel; but most of all, love is something you do. Unfortunately we live in a ‘love is […]
Archive | Fresh Heart for a New Week
RSS feed for this sectionThe Wounds of a Friend
A Friend’s Counsel “Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it.” Psalm 141:5 New Living Translation We’d better learn who our real friends are. That smooth-talking ‘friend’ who smiles with words of encouragement regardless of our behavior is most likely […]
Testimonies From Strange Places
Imagine hearing a testimony here! Augie delivered beer. It was his job. Augie met Jesus personally. It was his greatest joy. Augie had a testimony and when not telling it, he would be singing it while driving his delivery truck, in the shower and occasionally inside the supermarket cooler while loading beer from the back. […]
Inadequate Explanations
There’s so much we don’t know … “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Luke 1:30-32 New […]
Spiritual Marinade
God’s Word marinates! When I grill or cook meat I like to marinate it first. There’s virtually no limit to the flavors that you can soak and steep into a steak or roast. All that’s needed is time for the meat and the seasonings to hang out together, usually in a plastic bag or wrapped […]
God’s Signs
Heed the signs God posts! “Harold,” the worried wife’s voice came through his cell phone, “be careful. I just heard on the news that there’s a driver going the wrong way on the interstate.” Harold’s voice came back more shaken than hers: “It’s not just one car … it’s hundreds!” Somewhere, Harold had missed […]
Recruit God? Really?
God recruits us. We don’t recruit Him. We have a most unusual way of partnering with God. We come up with a plan that is bold, daring and almost guaranteed to help God with his goals and then ask Him to come alongside us to help with it. At least we believe it to be […]
God And The Waiting Game
Don’t keep God waiting! “So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” Isaiah 30:18 New Living Translation I picture God as the original ‘Mover and Shaker.’ Aside from […]
Untie Me!
Untie Me! Use Me! “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 NIV No other donkey in the history of the world had been prophesied about centuries before. But he had […]
The Gaze of Grace
Gazing with grace Is there grace in your gaze? When you look around at those who populate this broken and hurting world, how do you see them? We’re talking about the down and outers, the dirty, the homeless, those who burden society with their needs and their woes. Is there disgust in your gaze? Do […]