A Pastor in The Northwest

  It almost hit my head this morning. It was a close call. A ripe apple falling from a neighbor's tree was aiming for me...well, not really. As I looked at the apple on my desk (hey, free apple), I was thinking about that old idiom, "apple of my eye" and about how God sees us. As David wrote in Psalm 17:8, "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings" The basic meaning of the idiom is this: something or someone that one cherishes above all others Before we were even born, God loved us. He saw us formed in the womb and loves us so much. As the late Tim Keller said often, “You are more sinful than you ever thought you were.” But then he says, “And you are more loved than you ever dreamed you could be.” You, me, we are special in the eyes of God. His children are indeed the 'apple of His eye' and we are cherished. Do you believe this today? Can you accept your special status and live in that reality today? Lord, help us to kno

As I write this, we have a dicey air quality outside due to fires burning many miles away. The haze reminded me of the paradox of fire. What paradox? Good question. Fire can destroy and kill and yet fire is essential for purification, cooking food properly, and warmth. We need it but I can hurt us as well. In the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, we find fire in many situations - warmth, metal refining, cooking, worship practices, and judgment. Moses met God through a bush that was on fire. Israel, in returning to the idea of paradox, was both led by fire and at times destroyed by fire by God's judgments. Daniel's 3 friends were in a sense redeemed by God's fire despite King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon right? In the book of Matthew and in Acts we see fire representing the Holy Spirit and the filling presence of Almighty God. Listen to the writer of Hebrews speaking of this: So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer wors

Too good not to share this! “ I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me .” (Acts 27:25.) I WENT to America some years ago with the captain of a steamer, who was a very devoted Christian. When off the coast of Newfoundland he said to me, “The last time I crossed here, five weeks ago, something happened which revolutionized the whole of my Christian life. We had George Mueller of Bristol on board. I had been on the bridge twenty-four hours and never left it. George Mueller came to me, and said, “Captain, I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec Saturday afternoon.” “It is impossible,” I said. “Very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement for fifty-seven years. Let us go down into the chart-room and pray.” I looked at that man of God, and thought to myself, what lunatic asylum can that man have come from? I never heard of such a thing as this. “Mr. Mueller,” I said, “do you know how dense this fog is?” “No,” h

What do you want from me? -Jesus Jesus asks this question two different times in Matthew 20 to two different groups of people - first to an ambitious mom and her 2 sons and then to a couple of blind men. What do you want from Jesus? Or maybe, what do you need from Him right now? Sometimes we struggle to answer that right? In our lives we have some basic categories: Needs - the basics (food, shelter, water, etc) Wants - how we prefer to live (type of car, neighborhood, etc - we often struggle here!) Wishes - a preferred future - big audacious goals here God wants us to experience 'life and life to the fullest' (John 14:6) and that means He loves to bless us and when we're blessed, we can bless others (2 Corinthians 8). He also knows what we need even before we ask (Matthew 6:8) right? We would do well to put all 3 categories of our desires into God's hands - let Him take care of needs and wants and wishes (desires). This reminds me of one of my life verses from Psalm

Arguably the most famous pop band the world has known photographed in the most iconic way. In fact, the photo has been one of the most imitated photo ideas for bands. Have you guessed it yet? Four musicians from Britain photographed walking across a zebra (marked) intersection crossing near Abbey Road Studios in the City of Westminster, Greater London in the late 1960's. Another hint? Their names were Paul, John, Ringo and George...The Beatles. They simply crossed the street in a line and someone took a photograph. Iconic. Historic. It was taken on August 7th, 1969. Why am I reminiscing about this? Well, there was a song on that album that I've loved for most of my life - a song I learned on guitar years ago called "Here Comes the Sun." I bet you've heard it - maybe you are humming it now? Why this song? It reminds me of hope. The sun breaking through like God's faithfulness and you know what? With Jesus, it WILL be alright. Next time you hear that song, think

BY THE RIVER By Ben Bauman (C) 2023 Where the world slows down Where hummingbirds abound And all the water resounds No traffic or deadlines Just trees make the skyline There's just peace of mind There's so much to explore Throwing rocks from the shore And fresh air galore Where many pages are read So many stars overhead Where the soul is fed Where the silence is broken Where deep thoughts are awoken Words need not be spoken