Meat for the Hungry

  We Stand with God Flag www.etsy.comlisting1589111068 On the brink of Middle East peace, let’s consider Israel once again. Several years ago, my neighbors had two mammoth trees in their front yard that stood very close to their house. Because the trees were showing signs of age and would cause damage if they fell, my neighbors decided to cut them down. However, they left a good portion of the stumps, intending for a sculptor to carve beautiful figures.   We all know how good intentions go by the wayside, and theirs did, too. For a while, the tall stumps just stood there branchless. Then, to our surprise, we started to see sprouts coming from the tops of these “dead” stumps. The roots were still alive.   As the LORD gave Isaiah his great commission, He told him to go and tell his countrymen to see but not see, hear but not hear, make their hearts dull, ears heavy, and shut their eyes. But when Isaiah asked how long , God cloaked His answer. “Until the cities are...

Have you ever planned and carried out that plan just to feel differently about it afterward? Goodness, everything was riding on that one big moment, yet it fell flat. What happened? Did we misunderstand? It seemed perfect, but where do we go from here?   Thinker - Rodin - images.fineartamerica.com During the holidays, we plan changes we’d like to make in the new year and contemplate our future. We’re excited about fresh prospects and making the most of every opportunity. However, as our plans come to fruition, sometimes they aren’t what we expected, and we’re dumbfounded.   That’s when we must take a step back and remember, as Jeremiah did, “…the way of man is not in himself—it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” [1]   How did Jeremiah know this truth?   Jeremiah was the son of the priest, Hilkiah. He was too young to be a priest himself since thirty was the age for entering the priesthood. Yet, Jeremiah studied and believed God’s Word...

2015 started off well, but seven days into this New Year, extreme violence hit. In our shrinking world of high technology, the massacre in Paris almost feels like it happened here. Through the media, we see the faces of those Parisians who had their loved ones mercilessly cut down and our hearts are touched. From a distance, we groan with righteous indignation and mourn with them, because we know how it feels to have senseless acts of violence perpetrated against us. We remember the horror of 9/11, the Boston Marathon bombing, and others that fuel an ever-present fear of terrorism. Still, even without foreign influence, our country has seen escalating violence. Anger spewing out in riots, looting, and destruction over court verdicts and vicious, irrational school shootings. It’s as if violence stepped from the movie screen and made its home in our everyday life.