Reflections

To Be Or Not To Be 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 We were burdened beyond measure, . . . so that we despaired even of life.(2 Cor 1:8) When I was a child, kids on the playground jokingly quoted Shakespeare’s famous line: “To be or not to be—that is the question!” But we really didn’t understand what it meant. Later I learned that Shakespeare’s character Hamlet, who speaks these lines, is a melancholy prince who learns that his uncle has killed his father and married his mother. The horror of this realization is so disturbing that he contemplates suicide. The question for him was: “to be” (to go on living) or “not to be” (to take his own life). At times, life’s pain can become so overwhelming that we are tempted to despair. The apostle Paul told the church at Corinth that his persecution in Asia was so intense he “despaired even of life” (2 Cor. 1:8). Yet by shifting his focus to his life-sustaining God, he became resilient instead of overwhelmed, and learned “that we should not trust in o...

The Silent Pen James 3:1-12 The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.(James 3:18) Former US President Harry Truman had a rule: Any letters written in anger had to sit on his desk for 24 hours before they could be mailed. If at the end of that “cooling off” period, he still felt the same sentiments, he would send the letter. By the end of his life, Truman’s unmailed letters filled a large desk drawer. How often in this age of immediate communication would even 24 minutes of wise restraint spare us embarrassment! In his epistle, James addressed a universal theme in human history when he wrote about the damage an uncontrolled tongue can bring. “No man can tame the tongue,” he wrote. “It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (3:8). When we’re gossiping or speaking in anger, we find ourselves outside the lines of what God desires. Our tongues, our pens, and even our keyboards should more often fall silent with thanks in our hearts for the restraint God...

For The Birds Hebrews 13:5-16 You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor’s. (Exo  20:17 ) The bird feeder attached to my office window is just beyond the reach of the squirrels. But one squirrel has made it his mission to get the seeds meant for the birds. Having seen his tiny neighbors nibbling noisily from the abundant supply, the squirrel is fixated on enjoying the same pleasure. He has tried coming at the feeder from every direction but without success. He clawed his way up the wooden window casing to within inches of the feeder but slid down the slippery glass. He climbed the thin branches of the forsythia bush. Then he reached so far that he fell to the ground. The squirrel’s tireless attempts to get what isn’t meant to be his calls to mind a man and woman who reached for food that wasn’t meant to be theirs. They too suffered a fall—a fall so severe that it hurt the whole human race. Because they were disobedient and helped themselves to food that God told...

A To-Do List Galatians 5:16-26 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.(Gal  5:22 ) What’s on your to-do list today? Cleaning out an overstuffed closet? Calculating a financial report at work? Paying your monthly bills? We all have things we need to get done today, whether we’ve written them down or not. They’re important for us to accomplish. While a to-do list is helpful, another type of list is even more valuable: a “to be” list. Albert Einstein said, “Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.” The apostle Paul encouraged the Galatian believers, and now tells us, to be concerned with our character. He said that if we’re controlled by the Holy Spirit, God will produce in us the characteristics of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” ( 5:22-23 ). As you look at those character traits, which are you needing most in your life? More...

God’s Love And Ours Romans 5:1-11 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.(Rom 5:8) Franklin Graham regrets it now, but in his youth he was wild and rebellious. One day he went roaring up to his dad’s house on his Harley Davidson motorcycle to ask for some money. Dressed in his leathers, dusty and bearded, he burst into his father’s living room—and walked right into a meeting of Billy’s executive board. Without hesitation, Billy Graham identified Franklin as his son. Then he proudly introduced him to every member of the board. Billy did not apologize for his son or show any shame or guilt. Franklin wrote later in his autobiography,  Rebel With a Cause,  that the love and respect his father gave him that day never left him, even during his rebellious years. Our children don’t have to earn our love. To withhold love for our own selfish purposes is to follow the enemy, not God. God’s love for us is undeserved. We did nothing to earn it; no good in us merited it. “...

The Wine is tasted and The Quality is decided.             John 2:1 - 11. What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.(John 2:11) This miracle happened during the time of Lent. The time of lent is the time of realization, repentance and rely on the grace of our good Lord, Jesus Christ. It is time to evaluate and acknowledge the shortcomings of our life, realize the need of repentance and to rely on the grace of God’s transforming Spirit. By observing Lent in this manner, we attain a qualitative change in our lives. This portion explains the process of transformation with the intervention of Jesus the Christ. The Gospel portion of John 2: 1-11 is a familiar incident to all of us. I like to call the attention of the readers with a different perspective. Here we can see the crisis of a family in the midst of a wedding feast celebration...

Inner Turmoil 1 Samuel 1:9-18 I . . . have poured out my soul before the Lord.(1 Sam  1:15 ) Sometimes Sam feels as if he is in a bad relationship—with himself! Whenever Sam the writer starts a paragraph, Sam the editor interrupts. “No, no, no. Don’t say it that way. Why are you always so negative?” Or “What makes you think you have anything worthwhile to say?” Before Sam completed a single thought, his alter ego has torn it to shreds. This is a very debilitating ritual. It’s also common to the human condition. Satan loves to distract us with criticism, and he tries to get us to use it on others as well as ourselves. We judge prematurely and try to correct others before we know what they’re saying. That’s what Eli the priest did when Hannah was crying out to God. He interrupted her prayer and accused her of being drunk (1 Sam.  1:12-14 ). But God lets us pour out our hearts to Him in full honesty (Ps. 62:8). In fact, the Psalms indicate that it is when we are...