Blake Spencer I turned onto the long winding driveway, heart pounding and mind racing. As I parked my car, I looked up at the large home in front of me. For the next 24 hours it would serve as my getaway, a quiet place to silence the outside noise and seek wisdom and answers from my Father. I turned my cell phone off, grabbed my Bible and journal and anxiously made my way to the upstairs suite. On...  Read More

Marty Butler Emily shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She was tired from standing in line waiting for the store to open and from riding her bike four blocks. This was the third day she had been sent by her mother hoping to get the provisions her family needed. Emily was thirteen. She had a brother who was five and a baby sister just six weeks old. The past two days the rambunctious cro...  Read More

Mallory Nelson Mashed potatoes with gravy. Fried chicken. Warm apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Comfort foods. Foods that bring memories, a sense of normalcy, predictability, familiarity. Life can be like that sometimes. Things are routine. We seem to be able to expect what’s around the corner. These seasons of life typically bring us comfort, making it easy to lay our heads down at ni...  Read More

Nicole Cloyed As I look out among the dry and tightly compacted soil of my garden, I am overwhelmed with the work to be done. After the long winter months, spring is finally approaching. I don’t know about you, but that brings me immense joy! Yet, when I look out at the work that is required of me to prepare this soil for planting, I wish to myself that things could just stay the same. That by som...  Read More

Mark Brinkley The “Songs of Ascents” (of which the 127th is one) are written to help the reader prepare for coming events. I often wonder about the backstory that caused the Psalmist to pen these words. I wonder what experiences have struck to create the words of today’s psalm. What pain or suffering had this author’s path shown? Was it the pain of aloneness, the struggle of enduring loss, ongoing...  Read More

Bob Broadbooks Arriving to pick up his son at daycare, the father found the little boy at play in the middle of a toy-strewn room. Upon seeing Dad, the boy excitedly ran to him. Just then the daycare worker reminded the boy that before he could leave, he had to pick up his toys. The boy burst into tears. He grabbed his dad’s legs and begged, “Don’t leave me, Daddy. Please don’t leave me, Daddy!” D...  Read More

Ellen Weinstock In this chapter, the psalmist is pleading with God to show up, bring deliverance, and shed some light on the situation. When circumstances overwhelm and we can’t see the way forward, what we do next is important: wallow in our grief and confusion or put our hope in God.I’ve climbed the seemingly never-ending spiraling staircases of several lighthouses - viewing the breath-taking su...  Read More

Ron Jackson “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do...  Read More

Julio Morales Everything in the world belongs to God. Absolutely everything belongs to Him: our life, our soul, our all for which we must give honor and glory to the King of Kings, Christ Jesus. He cares for us. He exhorts us to take care of our hands and our hearts. God, by his grace, has given us salvation so we can be in that holy place, on the mountain of the Lord.Jesus Christ tells us in Matt...  Read More

Kelvin St. John Imagine being bullied by someone who is bigger than you. At what seems like the very last minute, your even bigger friend shows up to protect you. Imagine your relief as you watch the bully retreat. This psalm of King David reminds me of innocent people who need a protector.David, the shepherd boy, spent weeks, months, perhaps a few years getting to know those sheep, that field, th...  Read More

Don Stelting If you were to ask those close to me what my spiritual struggles are, you’d learn quickly that I think too often about sin in my past and subsequently struggle with guilt. I can’t seem to comprehend how God could still love and desire me after I’ve failed to be a good person. Most of us probably spend too much time consumed with our own problems and issues, maybe even contemplating pa...  Read More

Merritt Nielson In Psalm 138, a personal song of thanksgiving in the hymnal of the Jewish people, we have themes that recur frequently within the psalter’s pages. They resonate deeply within us every time we let the Psalms lead us in worship. One can’t help but be consoled in difficult times with its graceful lyrics of praise, petition, prayerful hope, and meditation. We come face to face with lyr...  Read More