The first time I met Richard Wurmbrand was over 35 years ago at a Lutheran Church in Anoka, MN. Richard was sharing his testimony of being tortured for Christ and enduring years of imprisonment for his faith in Jesus. To this day I remember the angelic glow that radiated from his face as he shared how the Lord had sustained him through much suffering. Today Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship is offering reprinted copies of Richard Wurmbrand’s classic book Tortured For Christ.

Grey, dismal skies sometimes enshroud our souls. I don’t know about you but I feel so much better when the sun shines brightly. I’ve thought many times how nice it would be to live in the Sunshine State where the sun almost always shines. A weather forecaster predicted, “Today the sun will shine for four hours.” Of course he was wrong. The sun shines constantly – we just can’t always see it because of the clouds that obscure its view. But the sun is still there shining brightly.

Jeff was an unlikely candidate for God to ever use. Jeff’s mother was a prostitute. In many cultures, including America, he would in all probability have been aborted or euthanized. But Jeff mattered to God. Jeff’s father brought him into his home. As Jeff grew older, his half-brothers scorned and rejected him. They drove him away. Jeff found refuge in the rugged hill country. He loved the mountains.

Many who have been abused and rejected, as Jeff had been, become angry and bitter. Many suffer various emotional and psychological disorders. But Jeff became a mighty warrior for God. He had a heart for God. He proved, once again, that where darkness and devastation is great, the grace of God is greater still.

Waite Cleaners does a booming business in the city near where I live. One can drop off their soiled and wrinkled clothing items and wait for clean, pressed, and fresh clothing to be returned. Most customers don’t actually wait at the business. They usually go home and wait calmly until its time to pick up their finished items or wait for them to be delivered. Yes, Waite Cleaners does a good job. But you have to wait. Someone once said that good things come to those who wait. There is a lot of truth in that.

More Americans than ever have climbed the ladder of success. For many people, though, life is getting better while they are feeling worse.

In the February 26th issue of the Centralia Sentinel, an editorial by Gregg Easterbrook, caught my attention. The title intrigued me – “Stress is the dirty secret of success”. Mr. Easterbrook made the following observation – “Americans are finding that merely possessing the good life does not ensure happiness. This may tell us there is a ‘revolution of satisfied expectations’ – that general prosperity brings with it an empty feeling. Here is another possible explanation of the progress paradox: That along with getting better at manufacturing cell phones, DVD players, and SUV’s society gets even better at manufacturing stress.”

To fulfill our destiny and delight in the shadow of God’s protection and presence not only requires faith and obedience but humility. Humility is our safeguard for the rewards of obedience.

In his book Under Cover, John Bevere teaches this great principle modeled by Jesus. Before Jesus went to the cross he taught and showed by example the need for humility. He taught us to have this attitude, “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which are commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done what was our duty to do’” (Luke 17).

On a cool, beautiful morning, I recently walked a stretch of old Route 66. Very few vehicles passed me as I walked along this now mostly deserted roadbed. Route 66, which passed through the heartland of America, was one a well-traveled route for thousands who drove it, perhaps seeking job opportunities during the 1930’s, or after WWII seeking the paradise of vacation land in California. Its roadsides were once filled with thriving motels, diners, service stations, and tourist attractions.

With the coming of the modern airlines and the interstate super-highways, Route 66 began to be bypassed, neglected and abandoned. Now it is “the road less traveled.” Few travel now except maybe via nostalgic memories, or by history bluffs, or by hikers and bikers.

Bethany, IL is a small but lovely community with rolling hills. There’s a spacious hilltop cemetery just across the street from the church our son pastors. Every Memorial Day at the statute of a Civil War soldier the American Legion hosts a ceremony honoring veterans. My grandson Elijah was quite impressed with the whole ceremony. “I like the part where we salute the flag and the honor guard shoots at the soldier statute. But they haven’t hit it yet,” he said. I still chuckle when I see that Civil War soldier statute.

Grandpa Os had a fruit stand where he sold peaches, apples, and melons. He was an expert in testing the ripeness of a watermelon. He would thump it with his thumb. If a customer was not convinced, he would offer to plug the melon. He would cut out a triangular plug from the watermelon and have the customer taste how ride it was. I never knew him to plug an unripe watermelon. The thumping told him when it was ripe and good for eating.

Have you been thumped lately? God allows testing and difficult situations to develop our character and bring us closer to him.

We have seen the amazing power of nature in earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. But our little finite minds can only begin to imagine the power of our Creator or the ability of our infinite God in all things. God has revealed Himself in His Book – the Bible – to help us grasp the unfolding revelation of His power to do anything thought by man to be impossible. He created the immense and mighty universe and it has been hanging there for thousands of years on nothing but His sustaining power. God has been holding the world together in spite of the destructive powers of both Satan and man.

I’m not an aficionado of pudding but I do like the old-fashioned, homemade type. I don’t consider the instant box type as real pudding, but homemade rice pudding, tapioca, or custard pudding – now that’s delicious. A century or so ago many people considered plum pudding a delicacy. I’ve never eaten plum pudding but if anyone makes a good plum pudding I’d be glad to sample some of it.

There is an interesting quotation dating back to at least 1615 when Miguel de Cervantes published “Don Quixote”. In his comic novel he uses the phrase, “The proof of the pudding is the eating.”

It was the perfect storm. I watched in fascination as the meteorologist on the Weather Channel described the pattern of waves that swept the ocean floor. This powerful storm was not the giant Tsunami that wreaked havoc and swept thousands their death. This storm being shown on the Weather Channel swirled deep under the ocean surface and stirred up powerful ocean waves across the ocean floor, plowing up tons of sand. This storm never came to land.

I’m looking forward with great anticipation to see the new movie “The Passion of the Christ”. It has already generated controversy in some circles and brought attacks against Mel Gibson, the director. “The Passion of the Christ” depicts the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion. Gibson, an award winning actor and director, said that the idea to make the movie had been germinating for over 10 years.

Although he had been a successful actor and director for several years, Gibson said that his life had become unhinged, “I got to a bad place, a really desperate place”. Gibson had drifted away from his early Roman Catholic faith. A midlife crisis led him to reconsider his faith. He meditated on the Stations of the Cross, which Catholics use to mark the hours of Christ’s passion. “I got on me knees,” Gibson said, “I realized that His wounds could heal my wounds.”

I had a lot of holes in the seat of my pants as a toddler. My mother told me that every time I would wander on to the road my dog, a shepherd mix, would grab me by the seat of the pants and drag me back. One day he grabbed me in the nick of time, saving me from a speeding car.

We recently set our clocks back from daylight savings time to standard time. We all look for ways to save time. Many times I have heard the nurse say to someone’s loved one, “It’s time.” They would whisk them off to surgery as we began a prayer vigil. What feelings flood your emotions when you hear the words “It’s time?”

They traveled from afar. It was a long journey in search of the King of Kings. All they knew was that the prophets and the stars pointed to a great king soon to be born. They followed a mysterious, magnificent star that seemed to be guiding them to where the new king should be born.

We do not know much about these wise men, magi from the east, who followed the star over mountains, deserts, and valleys in search of the Christ child – the anointed one. They had seen His star in the east and eventually it came to rest over an obscure, dusty Bethlehem. Unknown to them at the time, it was a fulfillment of a centuries old prophecy. “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” (Micah 5:2)

They are God’s special people. I constantly see that amazing affirmation. As I conducted the church service at Warren G. Murray Children’s Center, I was once again reminded of that fact. I came to the part of the service when I give opportunity for any one who may want to sing a song. A young man indicated that he had a song. From past experience, I asked, “Is this a church song?” “Yes,” he replied. The young man took the microphone and began to sing, “Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Mary had a little lamb. Its fleece was white as snow.”

Most Americans are collectors. My wife and I have a collection of lighthouses. Some of my most memorable vacations have been touring some of America’s lighthouses. Until recent years the keeper of the lighthouse was a key element in its operation. Many lighthouse keepers would take a lifeboat out into perilous waters to rescue victims of shipwrecks. Kate Walker, a widow whose husband had been the light keeper of the Robbin’s Reef lighthouse in New York Harbor, rescued more than 50 fishermen in distress over the years. In addition to taking care of the lighthouse, which she tended until she was 73 years old, she raised two sons, rowing them a mile each day to Staten Island so that they could attend school.

It’s been said that a positive, hopeful person sees a light at the end of a tunnel. A pessimist looks at the end of a tunnel and sees a train coming. We cannot really live without hope.

Before the turn of the 20th century, an asylum near Boston housed severely retarded and disturbed individuals. One of the patients, called “Little Annie”, was totally unresponsive to others in the asylum. The staff tried to help her, but to no avail. Finally she was confined to a cell in the basement of the asylum and given up as being hopeless.

What comes to your mind when you think of a knight? Younger people may think of a Jedi from Star Wars. But knights of old were known for chivalry, bravery, honor, and loyalty. The lore of knighthood taught society much about a code of conduct that seems lacking in today’s culture and society.

One of the most popular and inspiring musicals produced by a multitude of thespians over the years is “Man of La Mancha”. Most Americans are familiar with the song the man of La Mancha sings, “To Dream the Impossible Dream”. He meets Aldonza, the prostitute, and calls her, “My lady! And I give you a new name – Dulcinea.”

It’s a frustrating feeling – losing your keys. Perhaps even worse than not knowing where they are is not being able to get to them. Have you ever locked your keys in the car? Or you have an elderly neighbor who was constantly locking herself out of her house?

Harry Houdini was one of the greatest entertainers and escape artists of all times. He was locked in chains, handcuffs, straitjackets, and submerged in water while suspended upside-down. But he always managed to escape. He often took up challenges to escape from “escape proof” jails

The scream of bombs falling through the night sky, the whining air raid sirens and explosions in the distance shook Joanne out of a fitful sleep. Fires lit up the sky throughout London. Fear and deprivation stalked Joann, my wife’s stepmother, as a young girl in England during WWII. But when the falling bombs shook her house and lit up the sky, she had a hiding place. It was not the bomb shelter her family ran to, but the 91st psalm they trusted in.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1

On Valentine’s Day we think of our sweethearts and give expressions of love such as candy, cards, and flowers. A favorite icon is Cupid’s heart with an arrow through it. But what kind of heart does God, the greatest lover, look for? What kind of heart pleases God?

The life of David is a great character study of a heart that pleases God. David was called “a man after God’s own heart”. When he was anointed to be the new king of Israel, Samuel wondered if David was really the one that God had chosen.

Valentine’s Day, February 14th, gives us another opportunity to express the very heart of ministry. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . and you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). When we consider Christ’s love for the church, God’s Word gives us this illustration of love. “Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Marriage is to be an illustration of God’s love.

I’ll never forget 07/07/07. Thousands of gathered at Centennial Park in Nashville, TN to march through downtown in a silent prayer walk of repentance to start “The Call”. A river of some 50,000 people flowed 2.7 miles down Church Street to the Titan’s football stadium for 12 hours of praise, worship, and prayer for revival. My wife and daughter heard what sounded to them like a river of water flowing through downtown Nashville as thousands walked in prayer and repentance. I wondered if the thousands of people walking side-by-side in the hot humid sun would generate big time body odor. I was pleasantly surprised as a sweet fragrance wafted through the air.

Spring has arrived! The lilacs are blooming. The cherry and apple blossoms are in full color wafting their fragrances through the air. The bees are buzzing and the birds are busy building their nests. The splendor of God’s creation is awe-inspiring

Someone recently asked me a question concerning God’s creation. “What was the first fruit?” they asked. What do you believe it was? The Word of God is silent on the specific type of fruit. Some would speculate that the first fruit was an apple. Some have even called the round like ball in the front of a man’s throat an “Adam’s Apple”.