The Sword of the LORD

“In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city ; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks .” (Isaiah 26:1).   I have been building a wall this summer.   It’s a retaining wall that borders the north side of a very large flower and shrub garden in our backyard.   We have a lilac bush, forsythia bush, spice bush, magic lilies, peonies, tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, daffodils, and irises all planted there.   The ground in this bed falls away about a foot or a foot and a half toward our backyard, so I thought a retaining wall would allow me to add dirt and level the surface to create better moisture retention and less erosion.     Some of the lessons that I have learned from this project are: a.) at 73 years old I don’t have as much stamina as I did when I was 53, or even 63;   b.) my body protests when I overexert it with too much lifting and digging by manifesting pain in muscles and tendons that I didn’t...

“And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:1, 2).   Like Jesus’ disciples, somewhere in the back of our minds we tend to think of sickness and physical affliction as punishments from God that He sends to those who have done something wrong and offended Him in some way.  If we are walking obediently, we reason, our loving heavenly Father will preserve our health and heal us miraculously if we do get sick.  In practice, we know this does not always happen, so we’re left with a lot of unanswered questions.  This type of thinking can make us very critical of our brothers and sisters and create a rift between us and the very ones that we should be ministering comfort to.  Do you remember Job’s three “friends”?  They were very sure that Job had sinned because of the awful things that had befallen him, but they ...

My wife and I love jigsaw puzzles.   It's one of those activities that challenge the brain while at the same time providing an opportunity to talk, laugh, and share a sense of accomplishment when we finish.   It’s usually an activity that we save for winter weather.   There’s just something cozy and comforting about sitting down with a hot mug of cocoa topped with marshmallows and a snack, and working out the puzzle before you.   We have our own strategy when we solve jigsaw puzzles.  First we empty all of the pieces on the table and turn them all over right-side up.  Then we start searching for the straight-edged pieces that make up the outside border of the puzzle.  Once the border is complete, we start sorting out pieces based on similar colors, patterns, or hues; or if they appear to belong together to form some outstanding feature in the picture - a person, farmhouse, or a bridge for instance.  We both work on separate sections initially ...

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee .” (Isaiah 60:1, 2).   Surely, anyone observing current world events in general and American politics in particular must admit that a gross darkness has covered the people, and a dense fog has permeated their minds.  It truly is like the lunatics have taken over the asylum, and people have lost the ability to apply reason and good sense to the issues facing us every day.  during the last administration our government chose to ignore, and refused to acknowledge, that our country’s borders were virtually open to terrorists, drug lords, and foreign nations that seek to do us harm.  Even our airspace was proven to be porous to surveillance activities as well.  The authority of parents over their own children has been chal...

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. ” (1 Corinthians 10:13).    For Christians, temptation is an unpleasant, humbling, and stressful experience.  When we are tempted, we tend to think of ourselves as weak and inferior to other believers who surely don’t struggle with such things to the degree that we do.  Afterwards, we may feel guilty or unclean even if we have not followed the temptation and actually committed a sin.  It’s not unusual, either, for believers to be attacked in their dreams by images of themselves doing things that they would abhor in their waking hours.  They wake up feeling like they have sinned against the Lord, and they weep and repent for what they feel they have done.    Every temptation that we experience is just the r...