Presby-Musings

“I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.” — Jim Eliot  “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.” — Psalm 130:5 When I was a kid, I acted up in the grocery store, and my mom told me I'd get punished when I got home.   "Acting up" is a Southern saying that means "being naughty."  Honestly, I like it better.  Lots of things can "act up," like your car, dishwasher, and, as I've already established, your kids.  So I was acting up in the store and was told judgment awaited me when we got home.  So I went and stood by a display of baked beans and began to pray.  Out loud.  I prayed that God would forgive me, and that I wouldn't be punished.  My mom overheard and thought it was cute, so she let me off the hook.  Naturally, a few weeks later, I was acting up again, and dramatically tried praying once more.  That time, it didn't work.  That's how I learned not all prayers get answered...

This week, the Daily Devos will focus on the theme, "The God Who Meets Us In The Middle." Most of us like the moment of arrival. We like answers. Resolution. Clarity. The moment when everything finally makes sense. But much of life doesn't happen there. It happens in the middle. Between leaving and arriving. Between the prayer and the answer. Between who we were and who we're becoming. Between loss and whatever comes next. We often treat these places as something to get through as quickly as possible. But Scripture tells a different story. Again and again, God meets people in the middle. Maybe God will meet us there too. “Not all those who wander are lost.” — J.R.R. Tolkien “The LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way.” — Exodus 13:21 The Israelites knew where they had been. Egypt. Slavery. Pharaoh. Bricks without straw. They also knew where they were going. The Promised Land. Freedom. Home. The problem was everything in betw...

  The Keys to The Kingdom If Jesus is our King, what does it look like to live by his Kingdom values while surrounded by kingdoms that operate under very different rules? Today, we’re going to explore a story in which Jesus is asked a highly charged political question meant to trap him.   (Spoiler Alert: It didn’t) The Holidays are coming; do you have a plan for avoiding political talk? You should if you don't already.  It can be the roughest time of year for a lot of us, having to deal with family dynamics and all the baggage we carry when it comes to our family.  But add politics into the mix today, and you've got the potential for a serious food fight across the Thanksgiving table.   Maybe your plan would look something like this:  If you are that one family member who just enjoys stirring everyone up, first... Why?  Why do you do this?   You could seriously go without telling Grandpa that you heard a rumor that Jeffrey Epstein was ...