Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

  As I’ve said before, I don’t wait very well. I don’t like being stuck in a traffic jam, I don’t like it when my flight is late at the airport, and I don’t like waiting in a long line of people for just about anything.  When Jesus healed the blind man (Mark 8:22-25), the healing occurred in stages. After Jesus touched his eyes, the man said that he could see but not very clearly, that the people looked like trees. After Jesus touched his eyes again, the man was able to see clearly. Jesus obviously had the power to heal the man completely the first time, so it’s possible that He was making a point by touching the man twice. Sometimes, God may work immediately to deal with a problem we have. At other times, He may accomplish His work gradually. God told the Israelites when He was leading them into the Promised Land (Deut 7:22-24) that He would not allow them to overcome all the nations living there at once but He promised that...

  I used to travel a lot for work. I was on a plane about once per week. On a few occasions, I sat next to someone famous. I didn’t recognize who they were until we started talking, because I never expected to meet anyone who was well-known and so I wasn’t really paying close attention.   I’ve wondered from time to time what it would have been like for the people in Nazareth who knew Jesus before He started His ministry. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about this time in Jesus’ life other than to say that He was a carpenter and that He “… grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Lk 2:52).   When Jesus began His ministry and returned to Nazareth, the people were amazed at His teaching. But “…they took offense at him” (Mk 6:6) because they still saw Him as just a carpenter. As a result, Jesus “…could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them” (Mk 6:5). The people of His hometown couldn’t recognize Jesus for ...

  The little bluebonnet in our front garden (see my post of November 14, 2022) finally succumbed to the 10 degree weather we had this winter. It produced seeds after it bloomed last year and they have now sprouted, giving us a profusion of bluebonnet blooms in the front flower bed.   The little bluebonnet was persistent, hanging in there through the heat of summer and the first freezes of winter. Its persistence was rewarded this spring with new blooms that far surpassed what it was able to do last year.   Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life…..My Father will honor the one who serves me” (Jn 12:24,26).   Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by fai...

  More yardwork today!   We’ve had trouble getting grass to grow in our backyard because it doesn’t get enough sun. We had some trees removed and others pruned to let more light in. Now I’m working to get the weeds out of the bare spots so there is room for the grass to grow into. Some weeds are difficult to remove. You have to dig down to get out the roots or else they will just grow back.   Weeds tend to grow where the grass is weakest and, correspondingly, the grass won’t grow where the weeds are established. This same principle is true spiritually. The weeds represent our sins and bad habits. They can keep the Spirit from finding a place to work and grow in our heart. Some of them can become so entrenched in our hearts that they are difficult to remove. We need to ask Jesus to help us get their destructive roots out. Once we have weeded out what doesn’t belong, we need to fill our hearts and lives with the fruit of the Spirit and the works of God so that the weeds...