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From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God (Jonah 2:1). Since we are currently looking at Jonah, this recent news clip was too good to pass up. Earlier this month, Michael Packard, a lobster diver, was 45 feet deep in the coastal waters off Provincetown, Massachusetts, when he was suddenly gulped inside the mouth of a humpback whale. "All of a sudden, I felt...
Keep ReadingJonah 2 Have you ever been in a group setting where a volunteer is asked to pray? I help out with our high school student ministries group, and each week we ask if anyone would like to pray before we share dinner together. It's comical how quickly all conversation stops and all eyes look down when that question is asked! Adults are guilty of this, too, you know. Myself in...
Keep Reading"In trouble, deep trouble, I prayed to God. He answered me. From the belly of the grave I cried, "Help!" You heard my cry (Jonah 2:2 MSG). To get off on the right foot, I humbly acknowledge that just now I didn't know where to locate Jonah in my Bible. Although I knew the story didn't I? I'd heard it as a kid, I'd read it to my own kids, surely I'd heard sermons on it. I...
Keep ReadingWhen my life was ebbing away, I remembered you Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy templeBut I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, "Salvation comes from the Lord!" (Jonah 2: 7, 9) I do not know a lot about marine biology. My education comes from either watching Shark Week or Hollywood movies. Wh...
Keep ReadingFrom inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God: "In my distress I called to the LORD and he answered me You hurled me into the deep But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs" (Jonah 2:1, 2, 3, 6, 8). God uses all kinds of things to invite us into prayer, including the gut of ...
Keep ReadingI have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes (Psalm 119:59). What are my "ways," anyway? My ways are my customary habits, my regular patterns my "default modes," that is, the behaviors I automatically return to, usually without thinking the "rails I run on" my inner instincts and attitudes that get translated into my daily behavior, often withou...
Keep ReadingPsalm 119 I was thirty years old before I began appreciating and even enjoying exercise. It's a long story as to how I arrived, but what I discovered when I got there is obvious: there are numerous approaches to moving one's body, and all are beneficial in their own ways. Yoga is a great way to work on strength of mind and body by ways of increasing strength, mobility, a...
Keep ReadingSeven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. Great peace have those who love your laws, and nothing can make them stumble. I wait for your salvation, Lord, and I follow your commands. Psalm 119: 164-166 I have a confession to share. When I first read through these verses, I thought to myself, "Seven times a day? Ain't nobody got time for that!". While contempla...
Keep ReadingPsalm 119 My favorite college class was on Psalms. Our first assignment was to categorize each of the psalms in a spreadsheet. We created our own categories (worship, lament, praise, etc.), and after reading each psalm we put them in the appropriate column(s). I had never studied scripture so methodically, and it was enriching in heart and mind. (It also jump-started my ...
Keep ReadingPsalm 119 all of it? Throughout this summer we'll focus on making more room for God in our lives. Are there things ordinary people like us can do that would enlarge our capacity to be attentive, receptive and responsive to the Lord? No surprise: our answer is Yes! Yes, there are habits, exercises and even some "experiments" that we can try on and try out. But the goal i...
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