During my childhood I was allergic to honeybees and yellow jackets. At age eleven I was playing in a neighbor’s yard when I stepped on a nest of yellow jackets that had built their colony in the ground. I was stung over fifty times and spent several days in the hospital. For the next twenty or so years I received regular allergy shots, actually called venom immunotherapy. Most kids outgrow bee allergies and I did as well. While I still try to avoid bees and bee stings, I do enjoy what those pesky honeybees produce… honey.

The production of honey is fascinating. The process begins when bees extract nectar from flowering plants. They then store this nectar in their extra stomach while transporting it back to the beehive. When the honeybee returns to the hive it passes the nectar to another bee by vomiting the liquid into that bee’s mouth, who then does the same to another bee, one closer to honeycomb. This process is continued until the partially digested nectar is deposited into the honeycomb.

However, this nectar is still a liquid, so in order to remove the excess water from this nectar, the bees fan it with their wings to speed up the evaporation process. Once most of the water is gone, the bees secrete another liquid from their abdomen, which hardens into beeswax, safely sealing the honey inside the honeycomb for the bees, providing them with a food source to be consumed during the cold months. That is, unless Winnie the Pooh, honey badgers, raccoons, or humans get it first.

Today we most often use sugar, or sugar substitutes, to sweeten our food and drink. But until the sixteenth century, when sugar became widely available, honey was the world’s primary sweetener. Since I have cancer, I try to avoid as much sugar as possible, and honey is a good substitute. It is sweeter than sugar. While sugar only sweetens, honey on the other hand both helps to sweeten food and drink and has several health benefits as well. Honey, however, is also very high in calories. Not only do we consume honey, we also oftentimes describe things good as “sweeter than honey.”   

Psalm 19 reflects in three separate motifs the beauty of God’s Works and His Word. It begins like this: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Verses 1-6 describe the glory and wisdom of God through His creation, verses 7-11 reveal God’s law, and the psalm ends with a three-verse prayer asking for forgiveness and acceptance. We find these powerful closing words: “May the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” 

In my opinion, the beauty and transforming power of God’s Word is described in this psalm better than any other place in Scripture. Here is what we find in vv.7-11: “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

Did you get that – God’s Word is sweeter than honey. Are you taking time every day to ingest and digest His Word, allowing it to feed you, nourish you, and transform you?

We all make hundreds upon hundreds of decisions every day. From those “small” decisions such as what to eat for breakfast or watch on television to “big” decisions that have longer lasting impact, sometimes changing the course of our lives. [I can argue that what you eat for breakfast and watch on television do have lasting effects, but that is a whole different discussion.]

Often decisions can seem overwhelming, even the ones that should be easy and simple. Have you walked down the bread aisle in the grocery store lately? Gone are the days of choosing between just a few brands. In many grocery stores, an entire aisle is now dedicated to just breads. Where we shop, just from one bakery alone, there is health nut, multi-grain, buttermilk, potato, oatmeal, oat nut, and oat bran, sourdough, whole wheat, white, pumpernickel, seeded or seedless rye, along with several organic and non-GMO choices. Do you want sandwich thins instead of loaf bread? If so, you have another three or four choices. Still don’t like what you see? There are probably another six brands on the shelves. You want gluten-free; those are in often in another aisle. You get the picture – just how many bread choices does there need to be and is more really better?    

You have also probably recently laid awake at night fretting over a big decision, that proverbial fork in the road, that point where a choice has to be made. Should I accept that job offer? Can we afford that new house? Which course of treatment should I choose to take care of my hip pain? There’s not enough money to pay all the bills this month, so which ones do I pay first? How do I begin a conversation with my spouse about that nagging and persistent issue in our marriage? Or maybe you are trying to decide whether the person you are currently dating is the one with whom you want to spend the rest of your life with.

When you face a fork in the road and are trying to decide which one to choose, the Bible gives some guidance. First, the Scripture tells us that God’s Word brings illumination to life and life’s decisions. We read this is Psalm 119:103-105 – “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

And we also know Scripture tells us that God promises us wisdom if we ask for it. In James 1:5 we read this – “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” But we are not simply to ask, we are to ask with faith, believing that God hears our request and trusting in His response. Continuing on in v.6, we find this – “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like the wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Many of our choices determine not only our present but also our future. We can only see life through our limited perspective, but God sees the whole picture. When you are standing at a crossroads, before you take any of the roads available, first seek God’s wisdom and direction. He promises you His wisdom – “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6)  

There is just something about the ocean that is calming and peaceful, especially under a beautiful moonlit night sky. The quietness, the gentle breezes blowing through the sea grasses, the moon shining down upon the ocean’s water, the sound of the tides washing upon the beach.

But, if you have ever been to the ocean then you also know the unpredictability of the water and the waves. The tide comes in and then it back goes out; it ebbs and flows. One minute the water isn’t even up to your knees and then all of a sudden it is over your head, you almost drown. One wave gently tosses you around and you are having fun. But the next wave, it is a really big one, and the force of the water flips you upside down, pounds you into the ocean floor and you come up wondering what just happened. You need to re-adjust your swimsuit; it is in places it shouldn’t be and not places it should be. You’ve been there, right? Or maybe you have been in a kayak when the rapids got almost too dangerous and you feared being drowned.

Life can be the same way. One minute things are calm and peaceful and then without notice a big wave (or two or three or four) comes and turns life upside down. You sometimes lose your breath and find yourself disoriented from all the pounding you are taking. You just hope that you can find your way back to the shore.

The Bible tells us that when, from your vantage point, things seem out of control that God has things under control and He can calm the waves in your life. Psalm 89:9 tells us this, “You rule over the surging sea; when the waves mount up, you still them.”

We see a similar message in Psalm 107:29, “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.”

So, when you find yourself in turbulent waters, and your kayak is about to overturn, dumping you in the rapidly flowing water, you can rest assured that sometimes God calms the waters and other times He calms you in the midst of the dangerous waters. Either way, you can always trust that God is not far away.    

Do you feel dry? Has life drained you of your joy and your energy? Instead of hoping and dreaming, you find yourself in survival mode. There is no embarrassment in being dry, having dry bones. Life is hard; it can at times suck the life out of you. We’ve all been there. I know I have. Maybe you are there right now.

Let me ask- what do you do, where do you turn, when you need life breathed back into you?

We all have our ways. Some methods we use are healthy, sadly, others are not always healthy. Some methods help us for days, weeks, maybe even months, while others, they only last a few brief moments. And still others, they just don’t work at all.

The three persons of the Triune God (triune meaning three in one in unity) – Father, Son, Holy Spirit – work hand in hand in all things. They are the perfect trifecta to lead, guide, and direct you in all things. I like to think of the Father as the initiator, Jesus as the implementer, and the Holy Spirit as the energizer.

When Jesus was explaining to His disciples that He would be leaving them, He promised another Helper; the Holy Spirit (see John 14:16, 26). The Greek word for what has been translated in our modern Bibles as Helper, Counselor, Advocate is “Paraclete,” which means “called to one’s side, one’s aid.” (Think para-medic, someone who comes to your side to give emergency medical care.)

About now you might be wondering, where is this post going? The Spirit has many roles. I want to simply look at one here. One of His roles is to breathe life into you and into me. The Old Testament Hebrew word for God’s Spirit is “ruach” and in the New Testament (Greek) the word is “pneuma,” both meaning wind or breath.

In a vision to Ezekiel in which the prophet sees himself standing in a valley of dry bones, we find these words- Then he (Lord) said to me , “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath (ruach) enter you, and you will come to life’” (37:4-5).

Did it work? You be in judge. In v.10 we read- “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.”

So, today, if you feel dry, if you have dry bones, ask the Holy Spirit to blow life into you. And ask again tomorrow, the next day, and every day after that!

In South Central Pennsylvania this time of year is often cruel. Spring like weather is beginning to replace the winter blahs, but not quite. Today we will see temperatures close to record highs, so at least for the a few days, we hope to turn off the heat and open the windows. But by the weekend and all next week, temperatures are forecast to be in the 40s and 50s, with lows near freezing. The piles of snow have mostly disappeared, but March and April aren’t exempt from a surprise snow storm. Hope is an eternal thing.

Spring sports have begun practicing. Major League Baseball is in spring training. The perennial flowers are beginning to come up. Water fowl have returned to the pond behind our house and the golf course we live on has opened. The lawn and garden stores are fully stocked with mulch, compost, topsoil, garden tools, and everything needed for spring planting. We “spring forward” this weekend, giving us longer daylight. A mass vaccination site opens today in our county. Some pandemic restrictions are being lessened, but we still need to wear masks and social distance. Hope is an eternal thing.

While hope is an eternal thing, heartbreak and heartache do not need to be. It is impossible to avoid the challenges of life, many of which do really cause tremendous pain. We can strive to live wisely to try to avoid some of that pain, but even doing so is no guarantee that lovely spring weather will always be in your daily forecast. A sunny day today can quickly become a dangerous thunderstorm tomorrow. Life is not fair. Life can be cruel. Hopeful can turn to hopeless in the blink of an eye.

If we put our complete hope and trust in the people and world around us, we will be disappointed. We are called to have hope eternal in the promises of God. While the world that spins around us constantly changes, sometime for the better, other times for the worse, we have a God, the very One who created the universe, who never changes. He is always trustworthy, always reliable, always faithful. Psalm 119:89-90 tells us that “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations: you have established the earth, and it stands fast.”

Scripture is full of hope verses. Here are just a few:

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” (Psalm 39:7).

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).  

And maybe most hopeful of all, these words found in Revelation 21:4 about the return of Jesus, a new heaven and new earth – “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

So, as your flowers begin to pop through the soil, bringing new beauty and hope with them, and even if they get damaged by frost and never bloom, because of God, because of what Jesus did for you and me on the Cross, you can have hope – hope in the unchanging promises and unending love of God, hope for a better tomorrow, hope that one day all things will be made new. Is your trust, is your hope, in Jesus? Pray and ask Him for that kind of faith, for that kind of hope! Hope really is an eternal thing.

Having lived near the coast of North Carolina for a number of years allowed us the opportunity to be in close proximity to the ocean and also to those beautiful structures so often found near our country’s seas and inland waterways – lighthouses.

O LORD, you give me light; you dispel my darkness Psalm 18:28, GNT).

Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life” (John 8:12, CEV).

But did you know that some lighthouses also act as a welcoming marker for sailors and boats. While the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse protects ships from one of the most hazardous sections of the Atlantic Coast, known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” the Ocracoke Lighthouse serves to guide sailors and boats from the Pamlico Sound into Silver Lake, almost saying to them, “Come on in.”

What is the purpose of a lighthouse? We all know that lighthouses serve as a navigational guide and a warning for boats and ships to stay clear of dangerous shoals, rocks, and currents. During the day, the sailors can see the lighthouses by their unique markings, called Daymarks. For example, here on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the Bodie Island Lighthouse has horizontal black and white markings, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has candy-stripe black and white markings, Cape Lookout Lighthouse has black and white diamonds, and the Ocracoke Lighthouse is all white. At night, or in fog and bad weather, the sailors are guided by the light that acts as a beacon, keeping ships clear of shallow or treacherous waters.

Just as it is with lighthouses, we have a God who also is both a warning light and a welcoming light. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to warn us about the pitfalls that could potentially cause us to stumble in our lives. You know that feeling you get, the one that says “beware” or “stay clear,” or that thing in your conscience that tells you what is right and wrong, that is the Holy Spirit warning you. John 16:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.

And God always welcomes us into His presence, regardless of where we have been, or what we have done. He invites you in for the first time, and he invites you back time and time again. Revelation 22:17 talks of God’s invitation to come to Him without cost.

Just a ship follows a light to ensure safe passage, we too need to rely on God’s Word to guide us through the enlightening of the Holy Spirit.

So, today, I encourage you to allow God to be your lighthouse. Let Him be the Light that warns you of rough and dangerous seas, and also let that same Light welcome you into safe waters of the calm, peaceful, and tranquil lake.