Worthy Words

Have you ever heard someone say, “It’s a miracle!” Do you believe in miracles? I do. However, I don't believe that everything called a miracle really is a miracle. In fact, I've been frustrated more than once with someone who counterfeited a miracle. But miracles happen all around us every day. Though some miracles are super-natural; many others, like a sunset, the human body or the true love of a man and woman, are accepted as ordinary to the point that we hardly call them a miracle even though that's exactly what they are. What is a miracle? A miracle makes an opening in the wall that separates this world and another. A miracle is a phenomenon, a hint of God's supernatural power inserted into history. A miracle is a situation that is unexplainable in terms of ordinary life. There are at least thirty-five miracles performed by Christ recorded in the Bible. Miracles like: turning water into wine,   walking on water, healing the sick, multiplying loaves and fish,

Albert Einstein once said, "I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent. Curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me my ideas." He's saying, basically, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." He may have understated his intelligence and talent, but he does so to make a point: For more than any other reason, he was successful because he was persistent. I'm no Einstein, but I can also say that the success I have experienced can be attributed to this same principle. And I can say that my failures weren't so much the result of a lack of talent or the lack of worthwhile goals, they were the result of quitting too soon. Solomon said, "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." (Proverbs 24:16) When I'm struggling with failure — spiritually, financially, personally or relationally — I have to remind myself often that the d

In a paraphrased version of the Bible called The Message are these words from James 5:13-15. Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out. Are the politics and politicians of the day troubling you? Pray. Is your heart still pumping? Sing. Is the stock market driving you and your portfolio down the fast lane to ruin? Pray. Can you feel God’s presence? Sing. Are you picking up on the message? How amazing is it that we become so easily frustrated and lose the sense of victory in our lives? We get all twisted out of shape over the smallest stuff. Do I need to remind you that praying and singing actually work? Why do we only use them as a last resort? When I was a kid and got sick, the first thing my Mom did was to pray for me. There weren’t many vis

There's a Dennis the Menace cartoon in which Dennis and his friend Joey are walking away from the Wilson's house with their hands full of cookies. Joey asks, "I wonder what we did to deserve this?" Dennis tells his friend, "Joey, Mrs. Wilson gives us cookies not because we're nice, but because she's nice." The same can be said of our Heavenly Father. He gives, not because we're good, but because he's good. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us for our iniquities. Instead, he is the one...who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things… (Psalm 103:4-5) Looking at Jesus on the cross what did He do to deserve that? Looking at the empty tomb what did we do to deserve that? God’s loving kindness is G.R.A.C.E to us and for us. It is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of

There was a popular TV commercial that ran in the 80’s from a company that sold oil filters. The setup was based on how often people neglected to replace their oil filter at proper intervals. The service technician in the clip pronounced, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later.” He was referring to the small price of an oil filer compared to the exorbitant price of an engine overhaul. There’s another old saying says, “A stitch in time saves nine.”  What it means is that a little maintenance early on can help prevent major damage control later. Taking care of regularly scheduled maintenance with oil and filter changes keeps you and your vehicle from serious downtime and cost. The same thing is true with sin in our lives. Too often, we let little sins creep in, promising ourselves that it is no big deal or we’ll take care of it later. Instead of taking care of the problem from the start, the small sins that seem so insignificant grow and change until they are bigger and often o