Delightsome Land

Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.  — Proverbs 16:24 I am such a Bible nerd. Not only do I love to learn the meaning behind the Hebrew or Greek words in Scripture, but I like to study certain English words that pop up at me, pogo-stick style, to find out why a particular word or phrase is used. And so I grew curious one day.  Why does God use a honeycomb to describe gracious, sweet, and healing speech?  I didn’t have to look far for my answer. Jake is a teenage boy who lives in our neighborhood. He’s an outstanding football player and a wrestler. He’s also a bee-keeper who sells his amber jars of honey at local festivals and fairs. I decided to interview this high school entrepreneur one afternoon to discover all I could about the honey-making biz. Jake told me the flavor and intensity of honey depends on what kind of nectar the bees drink in. Clover nectar produces honey that is light and heavenly sweet. Another flower’s nec...

Don’t tell people what they want; tell them who they are. When I finished law school, I bought a yellow pickup truck from my dad. It didn’t have many miles on it and was in pretty good condition. I gave him the cash, he tossed me the keys, and I climbed in. As I was pulling out of the driveway, he tapped on the window and I rolled it down. He pointed at the hood and said, “You’ll want to change the oil.” I nodded dutifully and drove home. My dad is a great guy and I love him a lot; but it bugged me that he was still telling me what to do even though I was a grown man. However, I brushed it off as just one of those things dads do. The next time I drove over to see my dad, we had a great visit. Before I left, he told me again how I’d want to change the oil in my truck. This seemed to happen every time we got together, and I started to see it as a kind of stalemate. I was an adult, and I didn’t want someone telling me what to do. After all, this was now  my truck. Each time my dad...

Peace in a Day of Trouble   May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!  — Psalm 20:1 NASB Unemployment, wars, terrorism, natural disasters, leaders’ poor decisions — times are hard. But as our older relatives will tell us, hard times are nothing new. Flip through old family photo albums or history books, and see how difficult life was. Against the background of diseases, droughts, and financial depression, we see men and women of deep and abiding faith. Turn in the Bible to the book of Psalms. There we hear the cries of God’s people in times of trouble. We also hear echoes of our own frustration, our own fears, and our pleas for help from the only One who understands, the One who can best respond. When the troubles of this world crash in around you, flip through the pages of that photo album to gain some perspective. Then open the Psalms and find words of encouragement and peace for your weary soul. God is fa...

Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.  — Joshua 1:6 Every epic quest has peril, an evil villain, an insurmountable problem, a hero, and a spectacular ending when all is made right. Joshua and the Israelites’ quest to enter God’s rest is no exception. Before they could dwell with God in the land where He promised them rest, they had to drive out the enemies living there. They faced the peril of walled cities, expertly trained soldiers, superior weaponry, and an enemy who knew they were coming. But none of that mattered because God was on their side. He exhorted Joshua as the Israelites’ leader to be strong and courageous — not terrified or discouraged in the face of what seemed like unbeatable odds. God promised to be with them to help them overcome every peril on their quest as long as they obeyed His words. In the same way, we face a battle with sin, our great enemy, in our quest to enter God’s...

Let God work His will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and He’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.  — James 4:7-10 Understanding Your Enemy Practically speaking, if we want to recognize the lies of the enemy and turn toward truth, we must learn to understand the enemy and how best to fight against his schemes. I love what T. D. Jakes says about this: “You must understand your enemy, for you cannot defeat what you do not understand.” 1 In the book of Ephesians, Paul gives us one of the most foundational verses to help us understand our battle with the Devil: This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight t...