Daily Bread

Wonderful Merciful Savior

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And yet again another shooting in our nation. I cannot bear to read the news and hear more angry arguments on rights, laws or political solutions. My heart is aching for our people. Only God who holds both the hearts of kings and the lowly in His Almighty hands can help. I have always loved this song by Selah. Of all the music they have given us this is by far their best and most enduring. May this song be  a comfort to you. May our hearts cry to our wonderful, merciful Savior. Without Him we have hopelessly lost our way.

Stretch out Your Hand

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Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Exodus 14:21-22

In our walk of grace we sometimes begin to think that since nothing happens without God’s approval and that everything comes to us by grace that we have no role whatsoever in God’s plan. Nothing in the Bible however gives us any indication that such thinking is accurate. All of the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews chapter eleven are inked to action! Abel offered a sacrifice, Noah built an ark, and Abraham left his native land. Moses was hidden by his parents and Rahab protected the spies. Not only these brave men and women but in fact all of us who belong to God’s family have a distinct, active and essential role to play. Notice the order of the verses we are reading in Exodus: Moses stretched out his hand, and then the Lord drove back the sea. The people of Israel passed through the sea then God closed the waters over their enemies. The staff Moses carried wasn’t some mystical gift from an angel or a golden scepter which he had taken from Egypt. Moses’ staff was simply the tool of his shepherding work. When the people of Moses’ time saw the staff Moses lifted up they didn’t think of it as something quaint or impressive in any way. The fact that God chose to honor his simple obedience had nothing to do with the staff and everything to do with the humility of surrender. What are the tools of your own daily life? Whether you carry a chain saw or a laptop to work, God can choose to use anything you surrender to his command. Stretch out your hand! God is waiting on our faith made visible by our obedience to His Word!

It’s Almost Time!

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 Moving into the home that once my Dad’s in Florida has meant some major changes in our lifestyle including a good deal of downsizing. There was not much room for a garden here though we were able to preserve a few Irises in pots along the walk.  But tucked away in the back yard between the property line and an overgrown holly is a lemon tree that my Dad planted about thirty years ago. It large lemons are, according to our friends,  the best on earth! Though that tree stands no more than eight feet high, each year it yields scores of the biggest and sweetest lemons anywhere. It simply finds a way in its small spot to give more than anyone expected.
If our life sometimes feels like we’ve been downsized a notch or two, we don’t need to give in to discouragement. In our tiny patch of ground where our roots are planted, God still sends just enough sunlight and rain for us to grow. Yielding sweet fruit really has nothing to do with talent, effort or opportunity.  Yielding fruit means that, like our lemon tree, just keep growing till branches bud, buds become flowers, and flowers to small green fruit. Then one morning to everyone’s joyful surprise it will be time for another year of lemonade and lemon meringue pie! Yes everything has its season and here it means the lemons are almost ripe.

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