My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. —Isaiah 53:2 (NLT) What did Christ look like to the men, women, and children who met Him? To be completely honest, […]
Read MoreTag Archives: Isaiah
Superstition
The Great Plague stretched across London like a thick, drab blanket. It came as a thief in the night . . . unannounced, treacherous, silent. The mortality rate was astounding. Someone came up with the foolish idea that polluted air brought on the plague. So people began to carry flower petals in their pockets, superstitiously thinking the fragrance would ward off the disease.
Read MoreFear
We were rapidly descending through a night of thick fog at 200 miles per hour, but the seasoned pilot of the twin-engine Aero Commander was loving every dip, roll, and lurch. At one point he looked over at me, smiled, and exclaimed, “Hey, Chuck, isn’t this great?” I didn’t answer. As the lonely plane knifed through the overcast pre-dawn sky, I was reviewing every Bible verse I’d ever known and re-confessing every wrong I’d ever done.
Read MoreGrowing Old
Growing old, like taxes, is a fact we all must face. Now, you’re not going to get me to declare when growing up stops and growing old starts—not on your life! But there are some signs we can read along life’s journey that suggest we are entering the transition (how’s that for diplomacy?).
Read MoreStaying Alert
Your mind is a muscle. It needs to be stretched to stay sharp. It needs to be prodded and pushed to perform. Let it get idle and lazy on you, and that muscle will become a pitiful mass of flab in an incredibly brief period of time. How can you stretch your mind? What are some good mental exercises that will keep the cobwebs away? I offer three suggestions: READ.
Read MoreGod’s Control
The bitter news of Dawson Trotman’s drowning swept like cold wind across Schroon Lake to the shoreline. Eyewitnesses tell of the profound anxiety, the tears, the helpless disbelief in the faces of those who now looked out across the deep blue water. Everyone’s face except one—Lila Trotman. Dawson’s widow. As she suddenly walked upon the scene a close friend shouted, “Oh, Lila . . . he’s gone. Dawson’s gone!”
Read MoreThe Real Reason for the Season
YOU’VE SEEN IT. SO HAVE I. The phrase is on bumper stickers, it appears on coffee mugs, it often finds its way onto greeting cards, billboards, and church signs. It has become almost synonymous with Christ. What is that expression? Jesus is the reason for the season. Catchy, isn’t it? Sure makes sense on the surface. In fact, an entire retail industry has been practically erected around this singular notion.
Read MoreThe Irony of Incarnation
THE CHRISTMAS STORY HAS been so sanitized and romanticized over the centuries that even Hollywood—as jaded a culture as can be found anywhere—fails to capture the gritty pathos that surrounded Jesus’ arrival. Truth be told, even some churches annually idealize the birth of our Savior. Yet it was anything but ideal.
Read MoreHope for the Weary
MANY YEARS AGO, my brother, Orville, introduced a hymn to me I’d not heard before. Its moving strains often accompany me as I drive or walk in solitude or return late from a day of demands. Art thou weary, heavy laden, Art thou sore distressed? “Come to me,” saith One, “And coming, Be at rest.”
Read MoreA New Thing
THOUGH I HAVE WALKED WITH God for several decades, I must confess I still find much about Him incomprehensible and mysterious. But this much I know: He delights in surprising us. How important it is for us to remain sensitive and open! There are insights to be discovered which the Spirit of God quietly whispers. There are solutions to be applied, profound lessons to be learned . . .
Read More