“Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak…I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become…

Kinsman-Redeemer: a male relative whose responsibility was to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need “You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’ You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life,” (Lamentations 3:57-58). I do not like to ask others for help. Instead,…

“For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load. Let the one who is taught the word share all…

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace,” (Numbers 6:24-26). If we take time to stop, look around, and simply soak in the awesomeness surrounding us, we realize how blessed we truly are. Blessings may seem small, like your…

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight,” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Life is full of planning. We start dreaming of and mapping out our futures at a young age…what we want to be when we…

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen,…

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning,” (Psalm 130:5-6). In our world of technological advances, instant communication at our fingertips, fast cars, imminent work deadlines, jammed-packed schedules, pushes for productivity…

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines…

Past The end of the year tends to be a time of reflection, thinking back on the past twelve months and evaluating the good and the bad. After watching several Christmas movies this past month, the classic film based on Charles Dickens’ book, “A Christmas Carol”, comes to mind. The story includes three ghosts who…

Illumination The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year for many reasons, one of them being the lights! Over the weekend, my boys and I went to see a Christmas lights display, and it was magical, as always. Although we experience the longest period of darkness this time of the year, it is…