Graham Family,We want to hear what God is teaching you!  It is through the Word and by the Spirit that God reveals Himself to us. Journal for us what you are learning in the Word. As Peter wrote, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. ” (2 Peter 3:18, ...

The famous home, Falling Water, in Pennsylvania is so well known because of the man who designed the house and its furnishings, Frank Lloyd Wright. Buildings are more known for their architects that they are their builder. That's why I've been surprised that King David does not get more credit for building the first Temple in Jerusalem. In my devo ...

David wasn't afraid of much Not the lion or the bear Not the 9 foot tall giant of the Philistines Not the army of King Saul Not all his enemies' forces Not the laughter of his wife   No, David was a brave man.   But King David was very afraid of God's hand.   Late in life, David foolishly planned a census of all his forces. God punished ...

No, this is not Cherie's description of our marriage.  This is Abigail's description of her marriage in 1 Sam 25.25.  This is another instance where it pays mighty dividends to study the definition of Hebrew proper names.  Abigail is married to Nabal.  The word Nabal means "a fool." One wonders what exactly his parents were thi ...

Do you remember that television ad jingle: "You asked for it, you got it, Toyota" or am I dating myself? It was probably written by Barry Manilow, in which case, yes, I am dating myself, and I am an old geezer. I thought of it this morning in my Bible reading (Quick Aside: How is your Bible reading plan coming?) I came to 1 Samuel 9 this morning ...

I've been immersed all this week in thinking about the importance of daily devotional Bible reading.  Thom Rainer, president of Lifeway Publishers, does a good job of pointing out the importance of Bible reading to discipleship.  Now comes empirical evidence that the more you read your Bible, the more you will want to hug a tree. A new study done ...

God never ceases to amaze me.  If you were picking out someone to deliver your own people from bondage, would you pick a man who was the son of a prostitute, who collected "worthless men" around him, and who made at least one, hasty, regrettable vow?  Neither would I, but this is exactly what we find God doing in Judges 11 and 12.   Jepthah is no ...

I'm reading in Mark 2.15 this morning where Christ is reclining at the table with "tax-collectors and sinners." The tax-collectors were part of the native population hired by someone who had won a government contract to collect taxes in that particular location. They were universally despised because, according to NIDNTT, "The prevailing method ...

I recently read a book about a young woman who went to the Congo as a missionary called,  Give me this Mountian by Dr.Helen Roseveare.  She talked about what being a missionary is and what people think a missionary is in reality. Many might think that "becoming a missionary" is some kind of metomorphosis by which a radical change of nature is achie ...

Nursing LaughterSarah was ninety yearsold when the strangers cameto tell her husbandthat she would soon be with child.Maybe earlier that morning she caught a glimpse of her tangled white hair and thought of the bald babies she had never held.Maybe she long ago began taking her morning bath alone because she couldn’t bear to see the stretch marks t ...

As Orphan Sunday approaches Nov. 6, 2011, a day where we remember children without a family. I am reminded of words spoken by the orphans. I must tell you, wise words sometimes come out of the mouths of babes. The plight of the orphan is near and dear to my heart. Two of my children are adopted, once orphans, without a mother or father to care fo ...

Before you get too excited this is not about losing weight, sorry. Better yet, it is about how you and I view ourselves. If I were to be completely honest with you, sometimes I think that I am pretty great. Fortunately, time and circumstances make their way into my life and reveal something about me that is quite the opposite of greatness, failure. ...

Being the mother of six children, I find myself entrenched in plenty of excitement. Each of my children are uniquely gifted to bring an abundance of excitement into my day. Frankly, sometimes I wonder “How am I going to handle this? What should I do?” I know that I will never be able to dodge all the thrills and buzz of our home. What I can do is ...

One of the number one movies of all times is the Wizard of Oz. It's no wonder why so many love this movie, the characters and the plot are captivating. The lead character, Dorthy, is far from home and and desperately longs to get home. Her infamous line is “There is no place like home .” Her desire for her home is one I should readily identi ...

For those of you who were 80's kids, do you remember the old Garbage Pail Kids Collection Cards? You know those cards that mimicked the Cabbage Patch Kids, yet were about as detestable as they come. They took those sweet little Cabbage Patch Kids, which were intended to be cute and made them completely disgusting. When it comes to my speech, I ...

As we start another new year, God in his wisdom has guided me to be studying Lamentations 3. We look for times to begin anew with making desired changes in our lives and often choose the beginning of the year. We have New Year resolutions that may include time in God’s word, organization, weight loss, exercise, and other improvements. But most o ...

So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. Deuteronomy 5:32 (NIV) I love walking in the woods and this last weekend was a beautif ...

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it. Hebrews 13:2 (New Living Translation) While visiting my daughter in San Antonio, I went to church with her and took away a great definition of hospitality. We often think of hospitality as those activities surrounding the holida ...

Well-spoken words bring satisfaction; well-done work has its own reward.  Proverbs 12:14 (The Message) How often are we satisfied with the job we have done and seek no more reward than the knowledge of having done well?  Our society promotes going after awards and accolades.  We don't feel good about our performance unless we get fi ...

Strolling down the sidewalk, walking away from our hotel in Colorado, we turn around to go back and there in front of us is a snow-covered Pike’s Peak, one of the tallest mountains in Colorado, surrounded by blue skies and little white puffs of clouds. The view takes my breath away and I quickly turn on my camera to photograph the scene, but no ...

Dear Friends,Time! We live in a world where we never have enough of it. We tend to evaluate our days or weeks as being successful according to how much we accomplish with the time we have. If we use up all our time and don’t really get much done, then it is a bad day or week. How do you evaluate your time spent?This last week it took some time just ...