Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
Place in my hand the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
The words of this hymn, written by Midwesterner, Clara H. Scott, have been sung by Christians for over 125 years.
Each stanza speaks to an increasing awareness and receptivity to God’s Word. Open eyes. Open ears. Open mouth. Open heart. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalms
“In the deep recesses of man’s soul lies an overwhelming yearning toward the Creator,” penned A. W. Tozer in the beginning lines of his book “Experiencing the Presence of God.”
That yearning has been described and depicted in various ways by a variety of authors over the years.
Mike Cope calls it a “holy hunger.”
Martin De Hann refers to it as a “radical reliance.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalms
Did you receive any Christmas cards this year? Did you send any? Regardless, you’ll chuckle at this story.
Waiting until the last minute to send cards to 49 of her friends, a woman rushed into Wal-Mart picked up a pack of 50 cards with a cheery “Merry Christmas” greeting.
In her haste to get them mailed, she hurriedly signed the cards without closely reading the message inside. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalms
Isaac Watts was an 18th century English minister and hymn writer, who had become dissatisfied with the songs and quality of singing in British churches.
In his book, Then Sings My Soul, Robert J. Morgan credited Watts with ‘inventing” what he called “the English hymn.” Watts, however, had his critics, including minister Thomas Bradbury who called his songs “whims instead of hymns.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalms
Sunday our family visited the Skyview Church in Pinellas Park where Charles Murray serves as one of the pastors as well as a preacher.
His sermon text was from Psalm 136 on the topic of “Thanksgiving,” which is a wonderful passage for us to ponder prior to our American Thanksgiving Day. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalms
Lisa Earby, a Cleveland, Tennessee, teacher relates a funny story about reading one-on-one with a first grader.
For the first time the student discovered the words “thank you” in print. Lisa hoped her pupil would use some of the reading strategies she’d learned to figure out the words. However, after a few moments, Lisa decided to tell her the word “thank.” When she didn’t respond, Lisa emphatically said, “Thank.” Continue reading
Filed under Psalms
Norman Vincent Peale once told about finding a big, black cigar when he was a little boy. Quickly he slipped into an alley and lit it up. Peale said it didn’t taste good, but made him feel grown up. Until…. Continue reading
Filed under Discipleship, Passage To Ponder, Psalms
The other day our grandchildren, Miles and Katherine, came over to our house to swim. As we stood on the pool deck, Miles exclaimed, “Look, Papaw, there’s a black Asian beetle.”
Honestly, I didn’t know anything about its ethnicity. I just wanted to throw it out in the yard.
However, 8 year old Miles, began to speculate how it arrived from Asia. Maybe on a cargo ship from China, he opined. Regardless, he was very excited about the little bitty beetle. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalms
Steve Shepherd tells a story about some construction workers who drove to their local lumber yard. One of them walked into the office and said, “We need some four-by-twos.”
“You mean two-by-fours, don’t you?” The clerk asked.
The man said, “I’ll go check,” and went back to the truck. He returned and said, “Yeah, I meant two-by-fours.”
“All right. How long do you need them?” asked the clerk. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalms
“Is God Dead?”
These 3 words on the April 8th issue of Time Magazine stirred the emotions of a nation in 1966.
I remember it. I was a senior at Cascade High School in Clayton, Indiana. Not that I remember seeing the magazine, because my Dad subscribed to Truth Magazine, not Time Magazine. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalms
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