Thought For the Week

Dear Friends, Today’s “thought” comes to you from J. I. Packer, and is taken from the book, “The Desert Experience – Personal Reflections on Finding God’s Presence and Promise in Hard Times.” This is a follow-up to my message this past Sunday, where I spoke on the need not to misinterpret God, His love, or our struggles and sufferings, by how we feel, or by looking at our circumstances. It is written by one of my favorite theologians. A man whose books have been like a soothing salve to my soul! Enjoy.   “What agenda does God have in leading His people into desert experiences? Paul declared that, "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28 NASB). The good referred to is to be understood in terms not of ease and comfort as such, but of the fulfillment of the goal stated by Paul in Ephesians 5:25-27, both for the church as a body and for every Christian as part of it: "Christ... l...

Dear Friends, My “thought” for this week comes from John Piper. It is found in his book "A Godward Life" and is titled, "The Lord's Touch." I share it because I can testify (with most of you I am sure) that some of the most precious times in my life have been those moments when, “God touched my heart.” Times when seemingly out of nowhere, I was surprised to find myself experiencing what I believe the book of Acts would call, being “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4, 4:8, 4:31, 6:3, 6:5, 7:55, 9:17, 13:9, 13:52). I have sometimes described it as being, “overcome by the sense of God’s presence.”    Rudolf Otto, in his book, “The Idea of the Holy” described it this way: “It is the emotion of the creature submerged and overwhelmed by its own nothingness in contrast to that which is supreme above all creatures.” Have you experienced it? Did you seek it, or did it simply happen unsolicited in any way by you? How would you describe it? Enjoy. Saul also ...

Dear Friends, Have you ever experienced a time of refreshment and renewal with the Lord that was so pleasant and so invigorating, you felt like you had crossed a threshold into a time moving forward that would bring with it unhindered peace and solitude? I can honestly say that was true for me – in my early years as a believer. I do cherish those times of intense fellowship with the Lord. Yet, what I have come to discover (from experience and a better understanding of scripture) is that they are not a sign everything will be unbroken bliss moving forward. Unbroken bliss is God’s promise for the age to come, not this present age! They are a “foretaste of what is to come” (Eph. 1:13-14 / II Cor. 1:22-23). Rather, I have found them to be expressions of God’s goodness giving me renewed strength for something that lies ahead.   The author of today’s “thought,” Chris Jones, pastor of Redeemer Community Church in Bloomington, Indiana, explains it in a similar way. God gives us tim...

Dear friends, We are now past the mid-point of Advent. The annual four-week period of waiting which leads up to the day which the church chose to set aside to honor and celebrate Jesus’ first coming. The day the Word, or the Logos of God, who was "with God and was God," came forth from Mary’s womb enfleshed as a baby which God told Joseph to name Jesus (Yeshua, or Joshua in Hebrew, which means “The Lord Saves”). He who was the Lord of the universe, and the Lord of God’s people, became incarnate in Jesus. Actually, he is the Lord of all – whether they believe it, accept it, affirm it, or not.   Today’s thought (as we close in on the 3rd Sunday of Advent) is about him, and the comfort that is ours in Him. It is by Jared Wilson, a pastor and assistant professor of pastoral ministry at Midwestern Seminary, in Kansas City, Missouri. Some may have seen it if you subscribe (as I do) to ‘Christianity Today’ online. It is from their Advent Devotions, Week 1, Day 7, December 7, 2025. ...

Dear Friends, I know that by sending these “thoughts” out to over 600 people each week, I am sending them to a mixed crew. Some of you are experiencing inner peace and great joy. Others are tired and going through stressful circumstances. Two friends I know are experiencing the grief of loss. Some may be looking forward to the Christmas season with a sense of excitement and anticipation, while others are feeling depressed or emotionally numb. Some may be going through what St. John of the Cross called, “The Dark Night of the Soul” (struggling to even believe, or sense God’s wonderful presence at all), while others feel like he is so close he’s breathing down their necks. Over the years I’ve walked through each one of those places in my journey with Jesus. Like the seasons of the year, we too go through spiritual seasons – not staying put in one, but entering into one and then exiting out of it into another.  I don’t know who is where at this present time, but I did feel led to pos...

Dear Friends, Throughout my life I have heard preachers say there is a “God-shaped hole in the souls of people.” I believe it is true, since we were created by God and in his image. It is indelibly imprinted on our being. St. Augustine suggested this in different words when he suggested our souls will “never be at rest until they rest in him.” Others point to Ecclesiastes 3:11 to prove the point, where we read: “[God] has also put eternity into the human heart…” Yet, the one person who expressed this concept better than any I have read (besides possibly C. S. Lewis) is Blaise Pascal, the brilliant French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher, who lived from 1623-1662. It is taken from the book, ”Pensees” (“Thoughts”) first published in 1670, eight years after he passed away. Though passing at the early age of 39, it consisted of profound thoughts, ideas and notes which he had scribbled down with the intention of using them in a book he hoped to write in defense of th...