The Transforming Word of God

Have you ever felt as though you were in a whirlpool of activity, a whirlpool that was sucking you down, down, down? Or perhaps it was more like you were being carried downstream in a rush of responsibilities over which you had no control, unable to fight the currents that were swiftly carrying you toward the falls and eventually plunging you to self-destruction? I have. During those times, I continue to read and study my Bible. I even have prayer times, albeit rushed or while lying sleeplessly in my bed at night.  Recently, when panic won out over sleeplessness, I left my husband snoring away on his side of the bed and escaped to the other end of the house, where I cried out to God for His peace in the midst of it all. Remembering a verse I memorized a long time ago—"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you"—I opened my Bible to Psalm 116:1-9:  I love the Lord, for he heard  my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear t

Everything is ready for tomorrow—presents are wrapped, cookies are decorated and packaged, ingredients are ready for my crockpot dish—and so I'm taking a few moments on this Christmas Eve to write what's been on my heart for the past week. As I reflect on the birthday we celebrate, I realize we think about the Babe in a manger more than the reason for His coming. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Easter. Remember what the angel Gabriel told Mary about the son she would conceive? "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 2:32-33). This would be the long-awaited Messiah, although He would not fulfill the prophecies as the Jews anticipated. He would establish a spiritual kingdom, but His earthly kingdom is yet to come. And when Joseph thought he should divorce Mary quietly

'Tis the Christmas season, a most busy time of the year—an exciting time of the year. It's also when we celebrate the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I think there is something miraculous about every birth: to hold a newborn in your arms and to realize that incredibly formed creature began from a microscopic egg and seed; to try to imagine that wondrous infant curled up inside mother's womb; to feel those tiny fingers curled around your own. Yet the birth of Jesus Christ was a far greater miracle. Just imagine God Himself hiding in a woman's womb, developing and moving and then being born. Imagine the creator of language crying to let His mother know He was hungry or uncomfortable. Imagine He who breathed life into the first man wearing diapers, learning to talk, learning to walk. I remember holding my own infant son in my arms, born 35 years ago today, in the midst of the Christmas season. Gazing down at his tiny features with adoration, I

'Tis the holiday season, a time of running around, errands and parties. A time when we are surrounded by food and well-wishers. A time when we also feel weary and even stressed. Not feelings we want when we approach a holiday that is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of our Savior. What a time to be thinking about the importance of food in my life! It's all around me. And because I love to bake (and am pretty good at it, if I say so myself), my family and loved ones expect all sorts of baked goods from me. Not only that, I seem to think that the best way to show my love for others is by making their favorite foods. And now that my son is living in Tennessee, so far away from our Western New York home, I want to be sure to have plenty of his favorite foods when he comes to spend some time at home. That was Thanksgiving and will be Christmas. But a recent reading of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4), showed me something I'v