Follow the Cross!

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An old, iron, road-side cross in the countryside.

There was a time when cross-roads were commonly marked with a cross or, in some villages, a crucifix. At many an intersection, between field and hamlet, those crosses have stood the test of time and can still be found today.

Their placement has always struck me:
At a cross-road… a place of decision.

If there was ever a place where we needed to consider the cross, surely it is those times when we find ourselves at a cross-road, an intersection, a place of decision. Like those roadside crosses, considering the cross will help guide our choices.

When we don’t know what to do in a given situation, the Word of God gives us a hint:
Take whatever course of action will lift up Jesus and give him a place of preeminence.

He will use that moment, that decision to draw the hungry heart to himself; whether the hungry heart is your own or someone else’s.

Follow the cross!


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Great will be their Peace

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Our kids out for an autumn bike ride around Châtellerault.

The whole of Isaiah 54 speaks of a hopeful promise… a time when the pain of the past would be left behind and the future would be brighter. In fact, it is in this same chapter, that we hear the very familiar quotation:

“No weapon formed against thee shall prosper” (v.17)

If you feel as though you are, or have been, weighed down by a very heavy past, I encourage you to go read Isaiah 54. All of the promises made in there are said to be the heritage of the servants of the Lord.

I want very much for my children to experience great peace, but that will not happen all by itself… the same verse states the prerequisite:

“Thy children shall be taught of the Lord”

Teach your children something of the Lord today…
you will build in them a recipe for peaceful living down the road.


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Be a Bridge!

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This is the Henry the IV Bridge, in Châtellerault.

In the same way that a bridge “stands in the gap” between two shorelines, allowing pedestrian and car traffic to cross from one side to the other, so the Lord is looking for people to stand in the gap.

He wants to “cross the distance” between himself and an often hurting world or, more specifically, hurting individuals. While he could manifest himself to them in any number of ways, more often than not, he chooses to work through other human beings… like you and I.

Today, you can be a bridge to someone…
Possibly allowing God to cross over into their world, or helping them to cross over into his presence, here on Earth.


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Let your Light Shine

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This is of course the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris.

The monument is an impressive backdrop, but the thing that jumps to the eye is the lamp post, even though it occupies only a small space in the image.

Likewise, we may accomplish many things in life which could constitute a nice backdrop… but God’s goal is that something in us sets us apart, points people to Christ and makes them think… Thank you Lord! 

May that be our case today…
May it be your case today.

God bless you as you let the light of Christ shine through you.


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Daybreak on a day of Possibilities!

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The sun rises over the Vienne River in Châtellerault.

Today you woke up.
(Perhaps some of you are still in the process of waking up)
Maybe you found yourself mulling over yesterdays worries or last weeks failures; often times those things stay with us a while and oddly enough they are most present in our minds when we are trying to fall asleep or when we awake… potentially coloring our mood for the day.

Continue reading

Go ahead… Flourish!

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Leaf of my zelkova bonsai (Japanese Elm).

Proverbs 11 goes into great detail distinguishing between what it refers to as “the righteous,” “the just” or “the merciful” and “the wicked,” “the fool” or “the cruel.” 

There are many benefits to doing one’s best to manifest righteousness:
not feigned righteousness
not self-righteousness
but righteousness for the purpose of pleasing God. Continue reading