Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

  I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to travel. I’ve seen the Great Wall of China and the remnants of the Berlin Wall. Walls are used for a variety of purposes. The Great Wall and the walls around ancient cities were designed to keep people safe. The Berlin Wall was oppressive in nature, keeping people from freedom and being able to interact with the rest of the world.   We build virtual walls without thinking about them. Some of those walls may be useful, keeping us safe from Satan and the arrows he shoots at us. We need to keep these walls in good repair. Other walls aren’t useful at all. We build walls around us to keep from being reconciled with other people. We may try to wall off an area of our life so that God cannot get in and work.   In your quiet time today, reflect on what walls you have built. Ask God to help you tear down those walls that are harmful to you, to let His Spirit in to begin to heal you and your relationships.

  We finally got our repairs finished and our new flooring in place this week. For those of you who are keeping track, it’s been two months since we had the water damage to our house. We’re still putting things back where they belong but at least the furniture is in place and we’re able to live downstairs again. Everything looks nice and we’re happy that we went ahead with the whole project. We know that we’ll enjoy our new flooring for years to come.   During the past few weeks, when we were living out of a few upstairs rooms with our household belongings heaped up around us, I started thinking about how we grow spiritually. I’d like my life to be a nice, pleasant upward journey without any challenges or detours, but that’s not the way it’s meant to be. The difficulties we face and overcome, whether they be small or large, strengthen us and form us into the people we were created to be. They remind us to place our trust in God and to rely on Him to lead us when the pa...

  I went to church today and one of the readings was the same as what I read in my bible study at home earlier in the day. I don’t know how often this happens to you but it seems to me to occur more often than you’d expect from mere coincidence. Often the readings deal with something that I have been working on or thinking about. The reading today was from Psalm 145:   “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.”    (Psalm 145:8-12)   We can never praise God enough for His goodness to us. The more we praise Him, the more we, in turn, are blessed.   Our praise brings us into God’s presence, where He can speak to us and lead us in His way...

    I read an article about old laws that are still on the books.   It’s reported that you can’t step repeatedly on the cracks on the sidewalk along highways in Utah. I’m sure all the mothers in Utah rest easier knowing this is the law!   You can’t hide a coin behind your ear in Hawaii. Riding a camel on a highway is illegal in Nevada, although you may do so on a city street.   I talked in my last post about how God is unchanging and everlasting, that the God you pray to today is the same God who performed all the miracles we read about in the Old Testament. It’s also true that He is the same God who gave us the Law, who gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and many other rules for living. There are ceremonial and religious laws in the Old Testament that are no longer applicable.   In contrast, God’s moral laws are unchanging. The Ten Commandments have not been repealed. Jesus said, “Do not think that ...

  I got an E-mail the other day about my upcoming 50 year high school reunion. I’m not planning to go. I haven’t kept in touch with almost anyone from my high school class and I’m sure they have changed a lot in the intervening years (at least I hope so, in some cases!).   Our God is unchanging and everlasting. Think about it. The God you pray to today is the same God who parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, who sent His Son to live and die for us, and who sent the Spirit to dwell within the apostles at Pentecost. His power has not lessened with time. He is able to care for you.   God’s love remains infinite and personal. He can remove the obstacles in front of you or help you find a way to overcome them.   His Spirit will be with you to guide and strengthen you each and every day. Finally, He promises that you will be with Him for eternity when your time on earth is over, when “…..He will wipe every tear from [your] eyes. There will be no more death or mo...

  We had a major water leak in our house while we were vacationing in France. The drain for our air conditioner clogged up and the water overflowed the drain pan in the attic and came through the ceiling and the floor upstairs and then through the living room ceiling downstairs. We had somebody come out and unclog the drain. He also installed a float so that the air conditioner would cut off if the water started backing up again. A few weeks later, the drain backed up again but this time we didn’t have any damage because the float kicked in and stopped the AC before things could get out of hand.   Paul was on his second missionary journey. He and his companions were “…kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia” (Acts 16:6). Later, “they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to” (Acts 16:7). Soon afterwards, Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man asking him to come an...

  I temporarily un-retired a few weeks ago. The clinic I used to work for suddenly had an urgent need for help at the same time I was looking to work a little to help with a family need. I’m confident that the Spirit brought us together at the proper time.   Even though I’m doing the same thing at the same place as I was before I retired, it feels different to me. I’m better able to cope with the stressors and problems that occur. I think it’s because I went back to work with a purpose, to help the clinic and my family.   We all woke up today, got out of bed, and started the day in our usual fashion. We made our plans for the day and set out on whatever journey was in store for us. The question is: Did we start out today with a purpose for our life or did we just head out on autopilot?   It is inevitable that we will encounter difficulties each day because that is the nature of life. Some may just be irritants; others may be life-altering. The way we deal with ...