Category: Abiding

8/28/2021 0 Comments

Withering

The Hebrew word navel, basically means wither or lose heart. It is used twenty times in the Old Testament. The word describes Moses in Exodus 18:18—warned about wearing out from trying to judge the people alone. Eleven times it refers to plants dying. Isaiah uses it to show people withering from sin (Isaiah 64:6). When you think of the condition of the world right now does it feel like it is withering? Such a thought should not be surprising for God warned us that this would happen.

7/7/2021 0 Comments

God's Gracious Hand

Meditation
Ezra 8:21-23--I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions. I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who abandon Him.” So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and He granted our request.

5/1/2021 0 Comments

No More Work to Do

Occasionally when I’m reading my Bible a statement will just jump off the pages and grab me. It happened this week while I was studying Romans chapters 13-16. Look at the two verses below and see if anything strikes you.

Meditation
Romans 15:23,24—But now I no longer have any work to do in these provinces, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you whenever I travel to Spain. For I hope to see you when I pass through, and to be assisted by you for my journey there, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while.

4/24/2021 0 Comments

The Source of Peace

When I conducted a search for the “10 most stressful events” on the internet, the first two sources listed moving as #7.[1] I remember learning from a sociology class at West Point that moving was a big stressor. It does make sense. Moving is largely comprised of change, and the transitions change demand can be cortisol-producing. Imagine driving a packed 26-foot U-Haul truck from Colorado to Virginia and encountering drivers who seem clueless that one cannot slam on the brakes and immediately stop a fully-loaded truck! My physics professors would be proud of that observation. (May the woman who impatiently darted in front of me in Tennessee please learn that lesson). I’m also pretty sure my wife more than maxed her stress points trying to follow me in the Subaru as I wove between trucks on I-40. Despite all the miles, we made it accident-free and in pretty good shape. No animals were harmed, only one old piece of furniture was damaged, and, thanks to Covid, we had no problems finding hotel rooms.

3/26/2019 0 Comments

Frustration

Have you ever been frustrated by something that should work and doesn’t? For the last several months I’ve had a rotten time trying to charge my phone. I purchased several charging cords but the connection always seemed to be an issue to the point where many times I would have to hold the phone and firmly push the cord to get a steady charge. I was just about to take the phone into the store and replace it when I had an idea. Taking a pin I probed the cavity where the cord connected and immediately all kinds of dirt and matted hair began to come loose. Honestly, I felt pretty foolish—no wonder the phone was not properly charging—it was plugged up with debris.

9/18/2018 0 Comments

Power of the Word

John George graduated into heaven recently. He was a man for whom I will eternally be grateful. At a time when I was a cocky senior at West Point, he accurately confronted me about pride and forever changed my life. John knew that the Bible warns us in Proverbs 16:18 that “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” His exhortation scared me to death that God would not use me for His kingdom.

3/31/2017 0 Comments

What Defines You?

Meditation
3 John 11—Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

The preceding passage is one of identity. John makes a simple distinction to his reader Gaius. Choose what is good and by doing so define yourself as a follower of God. John illustrates this in the next verse when he applauds Demetrius as being a man with a good testimony. I suspect Gaius knew Demetrius.

3/10/2014 0 Comments

In the Plain of Remain

On Tuesday I flew into my headquarters to get ready for a key week. The next day with three of my leaders we would interview four candidates to choose our next deputy commander. My current deputy is superb—not just a great officer, but a man who will be a lifetime friend. Unfortunately, I’ve also had the challenge of working with executives who were inept or toxic. So knowing how vital it is to find the right leader, I did not get much sleep. When I woke up on Wednesday morning I felt led to get down on my knees and pray by my bed for wisdom from God and His divine help in making our selection. Immediately I felt His peace.

1/14/2012 0 Comments

Getting Away

Matthew 14:13—When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns.

10/30/2010 0 Comments

Lovemic

Chip and Dan Heath wrote a terrific book called Switch, subtitled, How to Change Things When Change is Hard. If you are a leader or a worker in an organization undergoing change, this is necessary read. Chip and Dan make a point that self-control is an exhaustible resource. They share an experiment that proves the point. Researchers divided college students into two groups and placed them in a room with two bowls: one contained chocolate and chocolate-chip cookies while the other contained radishes. One group could only eat the cookies; the other group could only eat the radishes. The researchers then left the room to induce temptation. Fortunately, all the participants followed the rules. Next each group received a series of unsolvable puzzles. The group that ate the chocolate spent nineteen minutes on the task making 34 attempts to solve the challenge. The radish eaters gave up after only eight minutes and 19 solution attempts. Why did this latter group quit so quickly? They used up self-control by not eating the chocolate!

7/7/2008 0 Comments

Branches of the Vine

Meditation
John 15:5-I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.

5/8/2007 0 Comments

Preoccupation

God was in the room when he showered, shaved and grabbed a quick breakfast while reading the headlines and the entire sports section.
God was in the car when she drove to school. He saw the traffic jam and her fluster. He listened to the DJ jabbering. He heard her sing KLOST’s latest pop songs.
God was in the office while he labored on his sales presentation. He felt the worry on his face. He read his thoughts about his coworkers.
God was in the hospital and noticed her lingering obsession with the handsome receptionist; the rationalization that flirting was not the same thing as cheating.
God was in the family room Monday to Friday when they gathered to watch their favorite evening television programs. He was at the theater Saturday for the afternoon matinee.
God was at church and listened as they sang how much they loved Him. He observed their tepid interest in the message and eagerness to depart the building for other activities.

2/10/2006 0 Comments

Spiritual Life

Meditation
Exodus 24:9-11--Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire stone, as clear as the sky itself. God did not harm the Israelite nobles; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.

10/29/2004 0 Comments

Motivation

Recently, I met with a man whose marriage is tottering towards collapse. He feels alone and unwanted in his own household. His wife seems more devoted to his children than to him. He seemingly cannot do enough to please her and he is ready to give up. When I asked Him how his relationship with God was doing, he shared that it is anemic. He grew up without a loving father which has effected how he views, relates to and trusts his Heavenly Father. Therein lays the core issue.

9/4/2002 0 Comments

Emulation

You probably remember the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. This godly man invoked jealousy in the hearts of the administrators and princes in Babylon. They didn’t like it that he was a better leader, or the fact that the king was planning to put Daniel in charge of the entire empire. So, they set him up by appealing to the ego of King Darius. They convinced the king to sign a stupid law—a law that stated that people could only pray to the king for thirty days, or they would be thrown to the lions.

5/17/1999 0 Comments

Abiding

A bag lady leans forward on a rotating stool in the corner of the brightly lit casino feverishly slapping quarters in the machine she desperately hopes will be her savior. Her sallow cheeks betray the expense of her abiding.

1/3/1999 0 Comments

Loyalty

The beginning of the year is a time when people in our society reflect. For many, new resolutions and goals are forged on the gold-embossed pages of a new journal. Yet as the past is closed for the door of tomorrow a timeless God is not concerned with another year. His word makes His question clear—are we loyal to Him?

8/24/1997 0 Comments

Influence

Meditation
John 15:7--If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.

5/21/1997 0 Comments

Estimate

My friend Brian shared an interesting vignette about a Romanian village. Thousands of fertile acres surround the town yet the people cultivate only small strips to grow what they can eat. Decades of communist oppression and the lack of modern farm equipment rob these wonderful people of vision. Their concept of what they can attain in the future is shaped by what they could not do in the past.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles