My wife is currently enrolled in a Master’s Program at Northwestern University. I’m so proud of her. She is doing an excellent job of balancing her time between her coursework and spending time with our son. One way she is able to do this is by waking up super early in the morning. She’s up hours before either me or our son. Some days I think she’s a machine. I’m not so sure how she does it, but she does.

One morning  I was sitting in bed as she was in our study hard at work. I noticed something strange. Even though she wasn’t in the bed any more, I continued to stay on “my side”. I could have sprawled and enjoyed the comfort of our bed. But I had been conditioned. And God said to me, “That’s exactly how you treat My Word.” Wow. Ouch.

I began to think about how easy it is to stay in my comfort zone when it comes to Scripture. Pauline Epistles? Love ‘em. Gospels? Can’t get enough of ‘em. And I think there are others out there like me. When was the last time you read (and enjoyed) Leviticus? That daily devotional of yours include a genealogy in Numbers? Probably not. I just sat in my bed thinking. My wife got up so I could sprawl. And here’s the simple truth there:

Continue Reading…

Today I decided to check out my top 25 most played songs on my iPod. Undeniably, the song that I play the most is Fred Hammond’s “My Father Was/Is.” It opens as follows:

Who was there when I first opened up my eyes?
And who was there to heal the hurt
when I first learned to ride?
and who would never miss a game?
celebrate me won or loss?
yes my Father was

Fred and I were in the same boat. He grew up without the presence of his biological father in his life. No games, no birthday parties, no father/son catch, no watching sports together. I love this song. It serves to encourage those who grew up like me. It makes you re-evaluate things in light of God’s presence in your life, even when you couldn’t feel Him.

Continue Reading…

What does putting a ring on it really mean?

When we were dating, my wife and I went to Kay Jewelers to window shop for wedding rings. Little did she know I had already bought her ring. The very nice gentleman who sold me her engagement ring was there and was happy to finally see the woman I spent two months ring shopping for. Two whole months of shopping. Like I said before, I took it very seriously. For me, putting a ring on it was far more than a cliche. It was real. We’ve already seen that putting a ring on it meant conferring some level of personal authority to another person. Today, let’s look at the second element of what putting a ring on it really means…the irrevocability of a promise.

 A ring promise is irrevocable.

“…for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring no one can revoke.” (Esther 8:8)

Continue Reading…