Whispering Hope

Acts 27:17, 20-26 NLT Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across to the sandbars of Syrtis off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind. The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone. No one had eaten for a long time.  Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.  For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as

When soldiers are called out, they go into dangerous places. Their fighting instincts kick in. They know they must do battle. They face opposition from the enemy. They face bloodshed. Many soldiers are on the frontlines knowing that in being there they have a heightened chance of dying in the battle.  Battlegrounds look different in every war. Some are hilly, mountainous, in cities, forests, and on plains. Some have lookout towers, caves, bodies of water, tunnels, and trenches.  These are the battlegrounds of what we might describe as ‘real wars’.  The battlegrounds where other warriors fight might look like homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, communities, and yes even what should be sacred places.  Warriors might be sly, filled with rage, have no self-control, cruel, aggressive, deliberate, and vengeful.  OR  Warriors may be forceful, loyal to the cause or to authority, protective, determined, steadfast, and rational.  The spirit of the warrio

This insect looks so elegant when it moves. They have stealthy- slow, graceful, calculated movements. Watch out though because they are powerful. Praying Mantis’ are predators. While they typically cannot hurt humans, according to National Geographic studies they have been known to eat “frogs, lizards, salamanders, newts, shrews, mice, snakes, tiny soft-shelled turtles, and even once a small bat.”  Never underestimate SMALL. Never underestimate ELEGANT.  I spent several minutes observing this insect. As it approached the end of the rail there was a calculated turn to make it to the adjacent rail. However, after several attempts to determine if there was ‘sure footing’ on the down side this critter decided to turn around and opted for the sure thing.  When I see things like this I always ask myself- What life lesson can you observe or learn from this bit of nature. This little guy/gal (I don’t know how to tell the gender of a praying mantis) first reminded me to walk

On this day 17 years ago I was in Detroit, Michigan pastoring a church. I received a call from a church member asking me if I had seen the news. I had not- I was at the church with no TV to watch news and internet then was not what it is today.  More than the news reports and the awful scenes that replay through my mind not just on this day but every time I have been in NYC I remember... scenes filled with people running for their very existence a dear friend who worked in the financial district recalling her experience of walking miles and miles to get back to safety scenes from the Pentagon - listening to the stories being told of their escape an eerie silence as DTW was shut down the questions of why did this happen? how could so many atrocities happen in one day- no in a few hours? and what will we do now? In a matter of a few hours America was forever CHANGED!   As a pastor I remember... The church filling up with people on a Wednesday evenin

WHO Do You Obey? Acts 4:1-22 S- “They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men w