Delightsome Land

* * * Don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow? That’s okay, because I do. And I have everything you need to face it. Nothing — absolutely nothing — surprises Me. Not surprise parties, not pop quizzes, not accidents, not even the weather. People want to be able to tell the future. Some of them even make a lot of money pretending that they can tell the future. But the future belongs to Me. And because it belongs to Me, you don’t need to worry about it. Just keep your eyes on Me. Too many people fear what the future may bring; they wonder if they’ll be able to handle it. But that kind of thinking is a waste of time. Remember: I am working in your life right now. And I will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Because life has no surprises for Me. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when th...

 · Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13). God wants you to be steadfast in your walk of faith, because in due season, that is, at the right time, you’ll reap a harvest, if you don’t give up. As a child of God, there’re unique abilities that God has placed within you. You might be at a stage in your life where you’re not sure whether you should continue doing the things the Lord has committed to you, due to challenges, persecution, tests and trials. But let me tell you this: maintain your focus. Don’t give up. The Bible says if you faint in the day of adversity, if you give up, because of the troubles and challenges you’re facing, then your strength is small. But your strength isn’t small, because the Lord Himself is your strength. To give up in the day of trouble means you trusted in yourself. 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God....

It was a Saturday, just before the 1994 elections, and they were at the Reagans’ home in Bel Air. Reagan had gone to the Mayo Clinic every year for many years to get complete physical and psychological testing that consisted of remembering sequences of numbers, colors, and other tests for acuity and memory. He’d passed each year with flying colors until the spring of 1994 when doctors noted he was slipping, “seeing memory loss that was more than age-appropriate.” Later that fall, the decision was made to tell Reagan himself. It was a Saturday afternoon in November. They were in the brightly decorated library of the house in Bel Air. The afternoon sun was streaking through the glass windows. Nancy Reagan already knew; she had been told the night before by Dr. Oliver “Ollie” Beahrs, Reagan’s doctor at Mayo. “Very upset,” she called Ryan and told him she needed him to be at the house the next day when Reagan was told. Mrs. Reagan was weeping as the doctor matter of factly to...

Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that ought to be worshiped. ~ Augustine Years ago I was talking to a guy who was bragging about his wealth and detailing all the many ways God had blessed him. The guy had built a successful business that he was quite proud of. He described how much his profits had increased in the past five years and boasted about the value of his company. He told me about his second home in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado, and the private jet he used for business trips and to shuttle his family back and forth on their frequent, exotic vacations. Finally, I felt compelled to challenge him just a little bit. “You said that God blessed you. Do you feel any responsibility to use what God has given you to make a difference?” I fully expected him to soften, maybe even to backtrack and tell me about someone he had helped, perhaps describe some ministry or charity he supported financially. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to brag a...

Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps. — Jeremiah 10:23 I have a GPS on my phone, but I rarely use it. I usually tend to think I know where I’m going, even when I don’t. For the most part, every time I do use the GPS, it’s because I’ve already tried finding something myself but have managed to get lost. When I finally type the destination into my phone, the first question that comes on the screen is this: “Directions from current location?” In other words, “Do you want to start where you are?” The answer to that question seems obvious enough, right? Of course I want to start from here. I’m not even sure where “here” is, but I’m confident that I want to start from here. And as soon as I answer that question affirmatively, the GPS begins calculating my route — not from where I started before I lost my way, not from the direction I should be headed or from a point farther along my journey, but from right where I’m current...

Imitating Each Other But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  — 1 Peter 1:15–16 NIV Peter was nearing the end of his life when he wrote the two epistles bearing his name. He wrote this, his first letter, to encourage believers in Christ Jesus as they suffered challenges, insults and persecution. As he wrote, Peter thought of the words God had given to Moses at Mount Sinai for his covenant people, Israel: “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44). Among the many dimensions of this covenant relationship was a marital–type union. In effect, God was wedding himself to Israel and moving into her midst to reside in the tabernacle. Most of us don't enjoy reading the book of Leviticus. It feels tedious and foreign, with a lot of attention paid to housekeeping, cooking and hygiene. That is not accidental. Newlyweds realize quickly that much of wedd...

Bible Reading: Psalm 103:12-14 A friend of mine, a pastor on my staff, told me that his father-in-law had wanted to express how much he appreciated him. At the time, my friend’s wife had just come out of a long period of sickness. My friend’s father-in-law wanted to tell him how much he appreciated his sacrifices and the way he cared for the man’s daughter. My friend and his wife were both standing there, and with tears in his eyes, the father-in-law had said, “Thank you for loving my daughter — especially with all her idiosyncrasies.” Idiosyncrasies? The compliment was going great until he said that. What does that even mean? My friend thought it was hilarious. His wife — not so much. Here’s the deal. We all have idiosyncrasies. Quirks. Flaws. Peculiarities. We all have little things — or big things — that bug us about who we are. Maybe it’s shyness. Maybe it’s overconfidence. Maybe it’s a lack of musical ability or athletic prowess. Maybe speaking in public t...