Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

  We are making plans for our annual summer vacation. We will be visiting Madrid and Lisbon as well as making side trips to a few other places in Spain and Portugal. While we are in Madrid, we will be going to see Picasso’s Guernica .   I’m not generally a fan of modern art. I still have the mind of an accountant. I prefer works of art that I can understand rather than those which are subject to multiple interpretations depending on the viewer. Guernica is an exception to me, being one of the most famous anti war paintings in the world.   Just as an artwork can be subject to multiple interpretations, the tapestry of our lives is subject to multiple interpretations as well. During Easter season, we read about the disciples traveling to Emmaus. Jesus came to them, although they didn’t recognize Him. We are told that “They stood still, their faces downcast” (Luke 24:17). They gave their account of the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection, feeling sad and confused. Jes...

 I have several little repair projects around the house that need to get done and, no, I’m not asking for help. I’m having trouble because: (1) I’m not very good at such things, and (2) I don’t have the particular equipment that I need, even though I’ve got a decent number of tools. The right tool makes all the difference. You can be very skilled, but if you don’t have the tool you need, you may have a hard, if not impossible, task ahead of you.   This is also true for life in general, and especially for spiritual matters. If you are trying to go through life on your own, not turning to God for help, you’re forgoing the one thing that you really need to overcome your problems and have a successful life. In the same manner, if you are trying to fight your spiritual battles on your own instead of putting on the armor of God, you’re doomed to failure because the enemy is stronger than you are (see Ephesians 6:10-18).   The psalmist experienced God’s care for him. He ...

  It’s that time of year again. Our veggies are growing in the garden. We’ve picked a lot of spinach already, as well as lettuce and a few beans. We have tomatoes and peppers growing and the beginnings of some cucumbers. The bluebonnets in the front yard are almost finished blooming but the daylilies have started. This means that we have regular chores to do in order to keep everything going. We need to water regularly, pull weeds, apply fertilizer, and get rid of invading diseases and insects. We don’t mind the work (much) because we enjoy the fruits of our labor. We know that things will begin to die out if we don’t put forth the effort.   Our faith is a living thing. Like all other living things, it needs to be nurtured if it is to grow. No matter what level of maturity we may reach, there is still work to be done. We are called to grow spiritually all of our lives. If we are to grow, we need to nourish ourselves and remove whatever impediments that may stunt our growth...

  I was working in the backyard on a fall afternoon a few years ago. I had raked some leaves and put them into bags to take for recycling. I was loading the bags into the trunk of my car when I heard a metallic clink. I looked at my hand and my wedding ring was missing! I figured it had fallen into the trunk or onto the garage floor or driveway. I searched everywhere in sight and searched again but no ring. A few rounds of searching in the house were equally fruitless. I decided to open up the lawn bags and look through the leaves to see if the ring came off while I was filling the bags. Nothing in the first bag, but there in the middle of the second bag was my ring!   Had I not heard the clink when I was loading the bags into my car, I wouldn’t have noticed that my ring was missing. There is no way that the ring could have made a metallic sound, given that it was in the middle of a 55 gallon bag of leaves. I never saw anything else metallic that had fallen or could have m...

    My birthday was last month and I had a nice day. We had dinner with our daughter, my wife made a beautiful birthday cake, and I got some nice presents and cards.   The lead-up to my birthday made me think about faith and trust. I trusted my wife and daughter to do their best to make it a good day for me, even though I didn’t know all the details. My trust was based on many years of birthday celebrations that I’ve had and knowing the love they have for me.   We often trust people without giving it much thought, whether they be family/loved ones or professional people such as doctors, pilots, or repairmen. We trust the former because of their love for us and the latter because of their knowledge and abilities.   While we confidently trust in fallible people, we sometimes find it hard to trust in God, who is all loving, all knowing, and all powerful. Why is this? I’m not sure, but I think a contributing factor may be that we tend to take God for g...

  I went to visit an old friend of mine this week. We have known each other since kindergarten (over 60 years!) but haven’t seen each other much in recent years since we live half a country apart. I got ready for my visit by gathering up some old letters that my friend had written to me many years ago. I used to take all the letters I received and put them into a box to save. I still have the box after several moves and several decades. The letters bring me joy when I re-read them.   We live in a day of E-mails and text messages and Facebook posts. Letter writing has become a lost art. I like writing letters because they give me time to compose my thoughts and be more personal. I love to receive letters, even if they are just quick, scrawled out notes.   Among the early disciples was a man named Joseph, from Cyprus. He was such a source of encouragement to others that the apostles called him Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36). He is referred ...

  We were in the path of the total eclipse today. For days, even as late as this morning, the weather forecast was for clouds obscuring the eclipse. God blessed us as the clouds began to break just as the eclipse began and we had clear skies for totality.   It was an awe-inspiring experience! I was surprised that it was still relatively light even when the eclipse was almost total. As soon as totality began, it became dark as night, you could see the planets in the sky, the temperature dropped, and everything got quiet.   Viewing the eclipse made me think about our spiritual lives. Any time we let something come between us and God, we begin to block out the light in our lives. It doesn’t have to be a question of sin; it can be anything that takes priority over God and our relationship with Him. It can even be Christian service, if we are doing it on our own and not in accordance with God’s will. Just as in the eclipse, we can block out more and more of God’s light and...