Take a Day for God

June 29

On Monday our men’s group facilitator said, "Take a day this week and let it be God's day. Say, ‘God this is your day, it all belongs to You.’ have no agenda. Let God control the day. Experience His grace.”

Of all the days God has been with me, finally I'm proclaiming a day for God. Tomorrow is God’s day.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)

God provides a Car

June 28


She fled to Florida by bus with one suitcase. Jane didn’t give her last name still fearing reprisals from her abuser. She found a shelter for abused women and set out to secure a job.

“I needed a car and prayed specifically for a clean four-dour Camry, so I could take people to church with me. And I added, 'Lord I prefer a brown or beige one.”   An organization which receives donated cars, called her. When she arrived she saw truly a gift from God waiting. It was a Camry, four-door, beige and fresh from a nearby car wash.

“And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

(Matthew 21:22)

In a bad place?

June 27
It was a revealing time in our small group.

“I’m in a bad place,” he finally admitted. After listening to his story Joy kneeled before him and began praying. He sat stiffly, his wife cried.

At communion in church a month later our pastor invited all. “I want you to feel welcomed with a hug from the Lord himself.” Our friend came down the isle tears streaming down his face and wrapped his arms around the elder at the communion table and bawled. He was with his God again.

“He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, and established my steps.”(Psalm 40:2)

Canal Zone Gifts

June 26


One of my duties while stationed in the Canal Zone was to pay the Panamanian drivers employed by the U.S. Army. I was shocked at how little money each received every two weeks. At the pay table there was a jar for contributions for some cause. Few put anything in it. One day the jar filled. I turned it to read "For Red Cross flood relief for New England families." Someone had written below that; "This is where the Lieutenant is from."

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Beware of Wolves

June 25


It is a Sunday service in the park. Paul, a homeless man says, "Man does not live by bread alone." The preacher thanks him. Later he is up again quoting scripture and confronts the preacher. The two grab each other and the preacher yells, "Get out of my face man." Mike gently leads Paul off.

After dinner, Paul sees me and says, "I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but I am a second Jesus. People need to start paying attention to me.” Later I read:

"I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16)

"attaboy,attagirl"

June 23

I call God's positive strokes, “attaboys” or “attagirls.” We all need encouragement.

We are attending a new church. The pastor is inexperienced. One day we agree not to second-guess this young enthusiastic pastor but to become part of his support team. At the next service we sit in the second row smiling. We beam during the young pastor’s sermon. He pauses, and says, "At times I see the radiance of God in other people...like right now I see God in the faces of Mal and Joy." It is an Attaboy! Attagirl!

"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29)

A Special UPS Driver

We are hungry and tired when we reach  Sturbridge Ma. at 2:30 p.m. We stop at the Country Kitchen. I’m eating when a man in a UPS uniform picks up my bill, saying, “dinner is on me," and leaves. The waitress explains on payday he pops in, finds some tourists and buys their meal.

Back at the table Joy has tears streaming down her cheeks. "That was Jesus showing us there are still good people in our country."

“He has told you what he wants, and this is all it is; to be fair and just and merciful and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

The Last Day is Coming

June 21

Today is the longest day of the year. The days will start getting shorter again. It is the order of our universe, happens every year. The Bible tells us that this order will all come to an abrupt end someday.

This dire prediction takes on a distinct probability since astronomers discovered a huge asteroid falling through space, which could collide with our planet later in this millennium. We have been warned.

“And the stars from heaven fell… and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.”
(Revelation 7:13-14)

Yard Sale

June 20

This isn’t your typical yard sale. All he owns is in the front yard. He is desperate and broke.

When I arrive the first thing he asks is, “will you pray with me? I’m upset.” I ask the Lord to help my friend through this. Two hours we painfully watch his belongings sell for a fraction of their worth. The phone rings and he runs inside. He returns saying, “That was a lady who wants me to paint her house. I gave her a bid four months ago and she calls today, Go figure."

I say, "You know who pompted the call." My friend tears up and so do I. The yard sale is over.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”(Matthew 11:30)

Are You in Ministry?

June 19

"I think I know you," the man at the next table stated, "are you in ministry?"

"I'm not ordained,," and wondered immediately why I said that. It sounded so awkward. He didn't ask me if I was a minister. He asked if I was in ministry. Aren't all believers expected to be in ministry?" I should have said yes. Are you in ministry?  A couple of reminders:

"But be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
(2 Timothy 4:5)

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us; (2 Corinthians 5:20)

Vacation on a Lake

June 18

When I was nine my family rented a cottage on a lake in Maine. I fished every day from a dock with the boy next door. That vacation inspired me as an adult to buy a cottage on a lake in Massachusetts for my kids.

Every summer spent on that lake while my children were growing up was a special blessing. It was a dream come true for me. I thank you Lord. I really didn't then.

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Being Born Again

June 16


I had other things that I loved more than God, like money, sex, sports, recognition,
alcohol and tobacco. I spent more time pursuing these than I did the Lord.

God sent me a gentle soul who shared with me that by asking the Lord Jesus into my life as my Lord and Savior, I would "be born again of the Spirit."

Jesus said. "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you that you must be born again." (John 3: 5-7)

Who is in your mirror?

June 15

Dilly, the drake, died.. Daffy his mate was devastated and would spend hours in front of our cellar window quacking at her reflection. We ended her loneliness by leaving her at a farm with other ducks.

Years later a robin was throwing itself at our front window. The duck saw a friend, the robin an enemy. What do I see when I look in the glass? What do I do? How about you?

"For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was."
(1 James 1:23-24)

Prayers Answered

June 14


How many prayers have I had answered? Countless I'm sure. Only the Lord knows.

.Some of the biggies were finding a loving wife who believes, babies born healthy, finding the Lord and having Him come into my life and His blessings each day.

Thousands of road miles traveled safely, scores of airplanes that landed, boats that stayed afloat, problems resolved, and all these years of good health and peace.

“Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures at all Generations.” (Psalm 100)

Want to go fishing?

June 13

I have a friend who is a financial planner. I have to call months in advance to make a lunch date. Yet he literally will drop everything to go on a fly fishing trip.

Peter dropped his fishing nets when he heard “follow me.” He was leaving for life.

Am I ready to do the same? Will I have the same passion for our Lord as my friend does for fly-fishing? Am I ready to make the commitment Peter made and drop what I'm doing and follow Him? How about you?



"Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Mark 8:34)

"That's the Answer"

June 12



. She is unemployed seeking the right job. “I'm trusting in the Lord. I'm not going to struggle with this thing any longer. Why did it take me so long to give it to Him?"
She lingers for my reply.I say, as if someone else said it, "because you weren't ready to trust Him before."

"That's the answer," she says over her shoulder as she walks away.

“Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5)

St.Andrews Golf

June 11

June 11,2012

St. Andrews is where golf was invented. I am in Scotland on a business trip and play a round on Jubelie, a links course. I join two local businessmen. About the fourth hole I tee off first. Before me is a tundra of sand, bushes and tall grass. I gasp, “ This is the worst looking hole I've ever seen." A voice says calmly, "You are facing the wrong way sir!"

For years I had been facing the wrong way in my life. Then I changed directions.Do you need a new direction for your life?

"I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life." (John 8:12)

What was Jesus writing?

June 9

We read in John that the leaders confronted Jesus with a woman who had committed adultery.The law says she should be stoned. They are testing Him. Then we read: “Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger,” then he stands and says "let he among you who is without sin cast the dirst stone."

 He stoops again and writes with his finger. What is all this writing in the dirt? Why mention it at all?

On a subsequent reading of this passage the reason became clear. The Gospel of John is an eyewitness account. The writer was simply describing what he saw. That is the way it happened. Hallelujah!

“This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.” (John 21:24)

An Apology

June 7

This is an apology to my school teachers. I am sorry for:

-causing my firth grade teacher to hit me with a pitch pipe that squeaked afterwards;

-putting a cat in my Spanish teacher’s desk draw and kudos for how he handled it;

-breaking the glass in the door when I backed into it during horseplay before English;

-my part in the food fight that splattered an ice cream bar on the Principal's suit.

-waiting so long before taking my ultimate teacher seriously? Thanks for Your patience. This student is ready and now I see the Teacher appearing everywhere.

“If we confess our sins he is faithful…” (1 John 1:9)

D-Day Surprise

June 6

A reporter I met in 1959 had returned to Normandy that year to do a 15th anniversary story.

He said the beach was empty except for a couple in their early thirties walking hand in hand along the water’s edge. He asked the couple where they were that day in 1944.To his surprise they pointed to a concrete bunker. Both,French teens then, had been conscripted  by German gun crews to make coffee runs. The couple met when they took cover from the invasion barrage. Later they married.They had returned this day as the 15th anniversay of the day they first met.

 Isn't that what the invasion was about, to free people from bondage to love one another?

"Love endures all things. Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:7-8)

Ethnic Joke Revised

June 5


Don is a good minister. One Sunday he tells a joke about a minister who wired all the pews in his church for stewardship Sunday. He asked "all who pledge $100 a week stand up," He pushes a button and several people are jolted to their feet. Applause. He does it again for $50 etc.

After the service the preacher notices a Scotsman slumped over in his pew.(Laughter) As I leave I tell Don he needs to take the Scotsman out of the joke. He does, making the fall guy the town bumpkin. The change is  none to soon, for at the next service there is a visiting family from Scotland.

"Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.” (Proverbs 19-25)

Last Words

June 4


A pastor friend shares that when his car was about to collide with another, he yelled "Oh Sh--." Later he felt ashamed, horrified “These could have been my last words,” he laments.

Are last words important? They certainly were for one thief at Calvary.(Luke 23:42)

God, just in case I don't get the chance to say something appropriate, let me echo Your Son's words now.

"Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." (Luke 23: 46)

Medal Fish Sign

June 3

For my birthday Joy gives me, among other things, a key chain with a medal fish sign, the symbol adopted by the early followers of Jesus. A few days later I notice the fish sign is missing from the key chain. I take this as a bad omen.

Our car is showing its age 11 years and 175,000 miles. We drive some 3,500 miles that summer on faith and prayers. The engine is noisy and it is leaking oil. When we finally arrive homeI take it to a repair shop. The mechanic come to me in the waiting room and holds out his hand. “I found this on top of the block.” It is the fish sign.
"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

Out of Gas

June 2

Tonight I share, “A God Thing,” with the other members of the Gifts from God board. The Chairman related he helped a man who was out of gas. That encounter lead to a grant from the man’s family foundation. “That was a year ago,” the chairman said, “I ran into him last month on the same road again out of gas? He said, ‘guess it is time for another grant.”

Who else can arrange a timely rescue, twice leading to needed funding?

“The Lord hath done some great things for us; whereof we are glad.” (Psalm 126:3)