Simple Thoughts

  Recently, the question came to mind: “What do we do with doubt?”  As I pondered this question, I thought of three stories with Jesus and people who had doubt. I want to go through each of those and then at the end, look at similarities that I found.  1. Wind and Waves Obey Jesus   Luke 8:22-25 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him...

Hunger. A word that can be so vast in its meaning and extent. I read a book one time that said that when we are truly hungry, it becomes an all-consuming thought and one would almost drop everything to satisfy that hunger. Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” Question for you. What does it look like in your life for you to hunger and thirst for righteousness? If Jesus himself, the God-Man, said you are blessed when you hunger and thirst for righteousness, what would that look like if played out in your life? David Guzik, one of my favorite commentators said this hunger is expressed by the following: A man longs to have a righteous nature. A man wants to be sanctified, to be made more holy. A man longs to continue in God’s righteousness. A man longs to see righteousness promoted in the world. How are you doing in those things? Is it a cry of your heart? Is it something you are longing for? Are y...

I read Judges 13 a couple days ago. I encourage you to read through it. But for those of you that I know will skip that part, I’ll give you a super short summary. Basically this is the chapter that describes the Angel of the Lord announcing to Samson’s mom that she, though barren, would bear a son, and that she should be careful what she what she eats because he will be a Nazarite from birth and will begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. Samson’s mom explained what happened to her husband. Her husband asked God to send the man again to teach them what to do once the child was born. The Angel of the Lord showed up again! Samson’s mom ran to go get her husband and then both of them were talking to the Angel. The next part is what struck me as I read it. Judges 13:11-14 11 So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.” 12 Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pa...

  Every January, the word “resolution” rolls around. We decide to do better - to attempt to get those good habits and kick the bad ones. However, the realist and sometimes cynical part of us knows. The voice is there in our head, “Really? Again? You’ll never actually change. Just learn to deal with it.” There’s this thing in me that wants to hold your shoulders and look you straight in the eyes and tell you, “Keep signing up. No really. Sign up again.” It doesn’t have to be every year. It can be a weekly or daily thing. As a matter of fact, if you make the choice daily (or every hour) to be a better, kinder, more unselfish spouse, I bet it will eventually happen. Don’t get discouraged when you stop working out in February. Sign up again in March. Too much sugar? Oof. One of my worst repeat offenders. Try again tomorrow. Still on that One-year Bible plan and it’s three years in? Don’t quit. Keep going. Finishing eventually is better than never finishing at all....

  I have some beautiful orange trees. The blossoms are lovely, and the trees are just loaded down with fruit in the winter.   But there’s a problem.   We can’t eat the fruit.   It’s not because I’m allergic.   I absolutely love oranges.   The problem is it is bad fruit.   They are sour oranges, also known as bitter oranges.   I’ve heard of people using them to actually make things.   Maybe a weird version of lemonade but with sour oranges, or maybe using the peel in something.   We’ve tried.   But honestly, they are so bitter, that for a decade, they have just sat.   Useless.   A decade has come and gone watching those beautiful trees.   They really are lovely.   My daughter said the other day it reminded her of life of a Floridian.   She’s not wrong.   But the problem is that she will never eat the fruit from those specific trees. If she did, she would immediately spit it out and her lips would pro...

I am a person in the realm of politics, but this is not a political post.   There is much in this post I am not saying.   There are volumes to be written and said (and much is being said) on the current happenings, but I just want to add one thought. I feel like I have looked at a tree for most of my life. I saw the tree of racism and it had fallen.   I celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. and other heroes of justice.   I love justice.   I have loved the aspects of history that told of the victories of overcoming the sins of racism in our nation. I knew it still existed in random pockets of people or towns, but for the most part, I just celebrated the huge tree that had fallen.   But now I feel like the last couple of weeks and even the last few days, I have made a discovery: the roots are still there. And I realized I had no idea how huge the root system is. I've taken time to read history about slavery in Tallahassee. I've read accounts o...