a journey

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118.1 (ESV) Thanksgiving has been a theme for believers in every generation and in every culture. This refrain occurs numerous times in the Bible by different writers over several centuries. Two reasons are given in this verse to be thankful. The first reason is the goodness of God. The second reason is the steadfast love of God. The goodness of God is at the heart of our understanding of who God is. The first temptation in the Garden of Eden was to doubt the goodness of God. The Serpent essentially asked Eve if God really cared about her. Does God really care for you? Is God really for you? If God is good, then why are you being denied something? You have the right to what you want. What is your response to God? Is God good? How has He proven Himself to you? I was asked recently if there was a special word in Scripture for steadfast . In the original language the first word of thi

This morning I had a great run along the banks of the Roanoke River. It was perfect weather for running and I had lots of company along the way. I love seeing people outdoors enjoying God’s creation. Hebrews 12.1 says, “let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” In this verse running is a metaphor for following God. Even if you are not a runner, it is a simple metaphor to understand. We are called to run the race set before us. When you compete in a race, race organizers have already determined the boundaries of the race and the starting and finishing points. Runners simply line up and run the race. In this sense, following God is simpler than we sometimes think. God hasn’t called us to solve all of the problems of the world. He has called us to trust Him and follow the path that He has set for us. I have a tendency to attempt races (or at least paces) that God has not set before me. I am competitive by nature. I try to deny that I am competitive, but the dri

This blog has been inactive for a while due to some technical issues. It is good to be back and I have learned that my technical ability has declined in the last few years. It is amazing how quickly things change. I have been around computers for almost 30 years. My dad bought a commodore 64 in the early 80’s and bought an IMB clone pc later that decade. I spent part of my childhood playing Impossible Mission and Pac Man while typing the occasional paper. For those of you who did not grow up in the 80’s, yes, typing a paper was a big deal. I’m surprised that I didn’t get beat up more as a kid. I learned how to use pc’s before Windows 3.1 and remember when Word Perfect was better than Word – the WYSIWYG was way better on Word Perfect when printing to a dot matrix. While I was in college in the early 90’s I took computer programming and worked in the computer lab. During graduate studies I continued working in computer labs and began doing contract work for computer vendors