Albert Einstein said that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Many of us fall into that same trap. We think that this time things will be different. But sadly, most times the result is the same, and it often causes harm to us and others. And soon we find ourselves doing and saying things that six months ago we would have said “no way” to. The line of what is acceptable gets moved little by little and soon we find ourselves in a deep hole wondering how we got there. It is often “death by inches.” I have at times in my own life fallen victim to that.

The poem below succinctly describes how to avoid death by inches.  

“Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” by Portia Nelson [1]

CHAPTER ONE

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost…I am helpless.

It isn’t my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

CHAPTER TWO

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend that I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place.

But, it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

CHAPTER THREE

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk

I see it is there.

I still fall in…it’s a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault. I get out immediately.

CHAPTER FOUR

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

CHAPTER FIVE

I walk down a different street.

[1] There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery. Hillsboro, Ore.: Beyond Words Publishing, Inc., 1993

We need to avoid those streets that look safe and inviting but lead us straight into temptation and sin. In Proverbs 4:14-15 we read this warning: “Don’t take Wicked Bypass; don’t so much as set foot on that road. Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth. Make a detour and be on your way (MSG).“

I encourage you to click here to read Proverbs 4 in its entirety. In this chapter, Solomon, in his old age, is speaking as a father, giving advice to his son (or daughter) about the importance of seeking God’s wisdom, knowing which streets to travel and which ones to avoid.  

Jesus, when speaking to his remaining eleven disciples in what is known as the Farewell Discourse (his “going away speech” in John chapters 14-17), promised that the Spirit of truth would guide them into all the truth (John 16:13). The Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, is our source of understanding and revelation of God’s truth.

So, I encourage you to take an honest assessment of the things you do, say, eat, think about, drink, ingest, and watch, and if any of those things continually cause you to trip and fall, then ask God to have the Spirit of Truth give you the wisdom and courage to chart a new course. It is never ever too late to take a different street. 

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

Do you feel anxious today? Does it feel as if there is a gorilla sitting on your chest making it hard to breathe? Do you feel like you are being choked? Are there situations or circumstances in your life that are causing you to lie awake at night? Does whatever is burdening you lurk in the back of your mind all day long and no matter what you do or say it has a grip on you? No matter how big or small your worries are, you do not have to live with panic and anxiety.

The English word anxious comes from the Latin word anxius which means troubled or distressed. The Latin word anxius actually is derived from another Latin word – angere – which means “to choke, squeeze, strangle, or to press tight.”

Today I simply want to say that in those moments when you feel as if life is pressing tight in on you, and you feel as if there is no relief in sight, you can rest assured that God is nearby, ready to exchange your anxiety for His peace.

If you are looking for a verse in scripture to draw upon in those moments when you feel anxious, try memorizing Psalm 94:19 – “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul” (ESV). The NIV puts it this way – When anxiety was great within me, your consolation (comfort) brought joy to my soul.” And, in The Message – “When I was upset and beside myself, you clamed me down and cheered me up.”

In context, that verse is preceded by this – “Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against evil workers? If God hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, ‘I’m slipping, I’m falling,’ your love, God, took hold and held me fast” (vv.16-18, MSG).

You might be asking, why would God want me to dump my messes in His lap? The answer is simple; He loves you and cares for you. Don’t take my word for it, let’s turn to the Bible. 1 Peter 5:7 cuts right to the chase, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”    

Turning to Jesus helps you get that gorilla off your chest that is making it hard to breathe. Turning to Jesus helps to remove that squeezed feeling you have when anxiety takes over your daily life (Matthew 11:28-30). And regardless of whether God calms the storm around you or calms you in the midst of the storm, He offers you a peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:4-7).

So, right now, kick the gorilla to the curb, ask Jesus for an exchange, and then allow His peace to ooze all over you like gooey warm chocolate sauce on ice cream!

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

When we lived in eastern North Carolina we experienced numerous storms that caused flooding. The city we lived in was at ten feet of elevation, and on the confluence of two rivers, so the area was very susceptible to flooding from any sort of rain event. In preparation for those potential high rain events, particularly hurricanes, one of the important steps needed was to put everything in low lying places up on higher ground. Lawn furniture was either brought inside or put on raised decks. Due to the low elevation, homes do not have basements.

Therefore, to avoid water damage in first (ground) floor living areas, furniture was put up on blocks and items sitting on the floor put on countertops or shelves. You could say that anything in a low place was lifted up to some place higher. Things were safer and more secure in those higher places.

From time to time, in life, we find ourselves in low places, in a valley. All we see are the mountains all around us or the once lush riverbed that has all but dried up. In those low places we are more susceptible to being swept away by flood waters. If we are not swept away, we find ourselves standing in mud and muck. And mud, it is slippery, and it is sticky. If we fall into a pit where the walls and bottom are mud, it is difficult to climb out. You ever been there? I have.  

Let’s look at these words of King David, found in Psalm 40 – “I waited patiently for the LORD he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (vv.1-2).

I so often write about waiting on God. Waiting on Him is not a passive ho-hum kind of waiting. Instead, it is intently waiting, attuning your heart to Him. It is waiting expectantly.

Turned to me seems to imply that God purposefully bent down toward David, not just to listen but also to reach out His hand to lift David up out of his current low place (slimy pit, mud, mire) with the purpose of securing David’s footing (rock, firm place).     

Waiting on God is also trusting in Him completely – “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods [run after lies]” (vv.3-4).

Notice that sandwiched in the middle of those verses, we are told that David’s faith and patient waiting, along with God’s deliverance, is an effective testimony, inspiring others to see (perceive), fear (reverence) and trust (assurance) in the Lord.

If you are like me, when I find myself in the uncomfortable low places, in the pit, standing in the mud, you want out hurriedly. I am not a patient person. I want to quickly climb out, shower off, and run to the lush green pastures. (God leads us there as well; Psalm 23). But I’ve found when I cry out to God and wait upon Him, in my moments of deep distress, that He has lifted me up, given me a firm place to stand, time and time again. He will do the same for you!  

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

Life in this country looked quite different back at the time of my birth (1958) and my early childhood than it does today. Cultural and societal norms have changed. I did not come home from the hospital in a car safety seat. Instead, I likely came home in my mother’s lap, as she smoked a cigarette. Child safety seats became available in the 1960s, but few parents used them, and it wasn’t until 1985 that federal child passenger safety laws were enacted, requiring children to be restrained in a safety seat. The safety seat we brought our oldest daughter home in back in 1987 looked and operated very differently than the child restraint systems in place today, ones you need an advanced engineering degree just to put in or take out of your car. 

Seatbelts did not become required in all designated seating areas of vehicles until 1968. In was commonplace to have passengers sit unrestrained anywhere in the vehicle. In fact, on long trips, my brothers and I used to alternate lying on the floor of our car’s back seat, using the middle hump as a pillow. This floor space also helped us avoid much of the smoke cloud that filled our car, as our parents puffed away. Today, New Hampshire is the only state without seat belt laws for drivers or passengers 18 years of age and older.

As a youngster, I remember my father and other neighborhood men taking their wives to the Playboy Club, because it had the “best steak in town.” And I suppose he subscribed to Hugh Hefner’s magazine simply for its literary excellence. I cannot imagine getting all dressed up and taking my wife to an establishment where the hostess and servers all wear skimpy outfits or white bunny tails.

In the sexually charged 60s, if a woman decided to go braless, she was likely making a political and cultural statement and was considered “liberated.” Today, going braless is often more for health or personal reasons than the freedom from patriarchal norms imposed upon women throughout history.

Clothing styles and trends come and go. Some thankfully so. Men, any of you still have a leisure suit and matching silk shirt in your closet? Not that long ago, men wore suits and ties, and women wore dresses and pearls, when going out of the house or being seen in public. For those of you old enough to remember the television show Leave It to Beaver, June Cleaver wore pearls to cook and clean the house. 

Cultural and societal norms change all the time. Century to century, generation to generation, decade to decade, year to year, sometimes even week by week. What was viewed as acceptable yesterday might no longer be acceptable today. As the world around us constantly changes, we have a good, good God who never changes. James 1:17 tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from our Father of lights, with whom there is no variation of shadow due to change.” The writer of Hebrews says this, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (13:8). God makes this promise in the opening words of Malachi 3:6, “For I the LORD do not change.”

Not only does God never change, but what He expects of those who call themselves Jesus-followers is to never change either. Here is what we find in Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

So, in a world of never-ending and constant cultural and societal change, imagine the impact we could and would have if we simply remained unchanged in our desire to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our good, good Father. Now that is something to never goes out of style.

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

I live in Pennsylvania, in a region often referred to as Amish Country. While there is much to love about this part of the country, I am not a big fan of cold snowy winters. A major snowstorm is moving across the country. Some areas have or will get more than a foot of the white stuff. We are forecasted to get three to six inches today.           

Rather than snow, I much prefer the mild winters of eastern North Carolina, which allows for barefoot walks on deserted beaches, the cool sand squishing between my toes.

And even though I prefer sandy beaches over cold and snow, I must admit that there is tremendous beauty in a snowfall. The untouched snow on tree branches. The untrodden snow-covered ground. Both are serene and pristine, offering a sense of calm and peacefulness. But it doesn’t take too long for that beautiful white snow to turn dirty and ugly.

You have likely heard the phrase “white as snow.” This conjures up an image of pure white. What better describes whiteness than snow? Not only the intensity of the snow’s color on a winter’s day, but also the purity of untrodden snow.  In Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” Autolycus sings “lawn as white as driven snow.”

Scripture tells us that every man, woman, and child is a sinner, falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We also know from Scripture that it is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from our sin (1 John 1:7). In the Old Testament blood symbolizes the atonement of sin, the sacrificial cleansing that comes from the shedding of blood. And it is the blood of Jesus on the cross that cleanses us when we repent and turn from our sin.

Our lives are like that pure white snow; when we sin, that pure white turns dirty and ugly. However, because of God’s great love and mercy, by sacrificing His son Jesus Christ on the Cross to bear the penalty of our sins, when we turn from those sins (repent) we are made white as snow. Here is what we read in Isaiah 1:8 – “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

King David spied on Bathsheba, the wife of one of his senior advisors, as she bathed on her rooftop. He had an adulteress affair with her, got her pregnant, and then had her husband Uriah killed as part of the cover up plot. The prophet Nathan confronted David about this series of sins. Psalm 51 is a beautiful psalm written by David after that confrontation. I encourage you to read this psalm in its entirety. It begins with these words – “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” In v.7 we read, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

And in v.10 we find a plea that I include as part of my morning prayer – “Create in me a clean heart (a pure heart), O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” David goes on to ask that he not be cast out of God’s presence (v.11), that he be restored (v.12), and to be delivered from his guilt (v.14).

So today, will you humble yourself and ask God to forgive you of your sins? When you do, you become in His eyes whiter than snow, white untrodden snow, beautiful beyond all imaginable beauty.

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

If you are like me, you are excited for this year but also maybe a little apprehensive. What will the year bring? Some of you wish that 2024 never ended. It was a good year for you. For others, 2025 couldn’t come soon enough. You look back on the year that was, and just sigh. Or worse.

You want a good verse to meditate on in 2025?

Allow me to offer some context for the verse I propose. It is found in Deuteronomy 11, which could easily be titled, Love and Obedience Rewarded. As the people of Israel journey toward the Promised Land, Moses gives them some instructions. I want to look at one of those instructions today. Moses tells the people that the land to which they are headed is nothing like the land they left behind. This new land in front of them will be different than the land behind them. This new land will require them to think and act differently. It is a land that God will tend and care for. Moses tells the people that if they rely on God, He will provide for them.

Let me parallel that image of a new and different land with the year in front of us. It is also a journey into the unknown. It will most likely be different than the year we just came through. Think of this new year was that new land that Moses talked about. I believe that God promises us the same thing – if we depend on Him, He will never fail us. Sure, there will be mountains and there will be valleys, there will be sun and there will be clouds, there will be bright days and there will be dark nights, there will be joys and there will be tears, but for those who trust in Him, no drought, no flood, no hurt, no fears, no disappointment, no loss, nothing, is too great for God to guide around or through.

Okay, let’s look at the setup verse… “The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden” (Deuteronomy 11:10).

Now, here is the verse I will meditate on each and every day in 2025, and I propose the same for you … “But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end” (11:11-12).

2025 is our new land! I do not know what lies ahead in 2025, but one thing I am confident of is this – “And my God will meet all (my) your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

I will end with another verse as well as song lyrics –

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit’” (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

“This land is your land, and this land is my land … this land was made for you and me.” (“This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie)

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.