Category: Favor

6/20/2022 1 Comment

Honoring Our Elderly

Patricia P. Driscoll and Celia Straus wrote in Hidden Battle on Unseen Fronts, “As a society, we don’t take very good care of one another. Ours is a disposable culture: our children, our elders, our ill and infirm, our natural resources are often ignored, overlooked, forgotten or mistreated.” Did you know that respect for the elderly is tied in scripture to reverence for God? God did not make people obsolete, objects of derision or relics to be ignored or kept out of the way. We as a society have done this because collectively, we view feebleness and weakness as properties to be avoided. We don’t wish to be reminded of the last chapters or days of life before death. We want to be strong, healthy and admired. But we see life from such a limited and sadly vain vantage. God made life, and He made it with eternity in mind. When we disrespect the elderly, we disrespect what He created, which is never a good practice.

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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.

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9/30/2020 0 Comments

The Return

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, “It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” On April 30, 1863, Lincoln's National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer was observed. Two days later, Lt. General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded in a freak accident where he was shot by his own troops. The loss of this powerful Confederate leader changed the course of the war.[1]

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11/10/2019 0 Comments

Uncommon Kindness

Alex is a high school student in Vancouver, Washington. One day he was driving on a job when he was rear-ended by another driver. Alex took a photo of the man’s driver’s license so he could report it to his insurance company. He noticed that the man held a commercial license. In conversing with him he found out that he was married and a father and that this was his second accident in less than a month. The man was upset that he had been so careless.

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9/5/2019 1 Comment

Establish the Work of Our Hands

Meditation
Psalm 90:17—Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands—establish the work of our hands!

Psalm 90:17 is my verse for 2019. It has dual meaning for me because of my book The Strong Leader’s Handwhere I heavily utilize the hand to illustrate six leadership principles. For example, what we put our hands to often reveals our vision. I also love the fact that the psalmist seeks the Lord’s favor. Without God’s favor life turns into a burdensome struggle. With His support life is pregnant with meaning.

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5/28/2016 0 Comments

Incense--Fragrant Prayer

Walking into my office downstairs I was immediately aware of a great aroma. That observation was quickly followed by one of relief. I had left my fragrance lamp on all night and that could have been a fire hazard. Fortunately, the melted eucalyptus/mint-laced wax cubes created a wonderful scent and nothing had overheated.

Meditation
Psalm 141:2—May my prayer be set before You as incense, the raising of my hands as the evening offering.

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1/3/2003 0 Comments

Disfavor

How it started I don’t know. Perhaps in the course of conversation God gave the idea to Adam’s family. Nothing is stated in Genesis 1-3 about God asking anyone to bring Him offerings. Yet, for some reason, Cain brought to the Lord some of the fruits of his land. His brother Able presented fat portions from the firstborn of his flock. “And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent” (Gen. 4:4,5).

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6/12/2000 0 Comments

Billboards

Tigard, Oregon—HOME! Our Plymouth Voyager rolled up 8153 miles drinking over 341 gallons of gas as we traversed 25 states, Washington D.C. and parts of Canada. We weren’t able to visit everyone we hoped to see, we got sick and at times I think our three children reached the travel saturation point. But it can be a great thing to be stretched beyond our comfort zone. God was gracious to us and we experienced an unforgettable month visiting relatives and friends and learning more about our nation and its people.

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