Heartbreaking by Lane Jordan Burday
So do not fear, for I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my right hand (Isaiah 41:10). My fondest memory of my childhood is summer camp. I went to camp every summer from the age of 12 on, and at 16, I was a CIT—Counselor in Training, and then a counselor. My sisters went to the same camp as both my daughters did! The camp, Camp Juliette Low, was founded by Juliette Low herself. She was the founder of the Girl Scouts…
Five Prayers for Kerrville by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Like many of you, I have been deeply saddened by the events that occurred over the weekend in Kerr County, Texas. I am mourning with those whose loved ones were swept away by the flood waters, even though I don’t know them personally. However, instead of six degrees of separation, in this case, there seems to be one degree. I have friends who have lost relatives or know people who perished, and that makes this situation more personal. I grew up in San Antonio, about an hour away from Kerrville, and I have been to Kerrville many times. I distinctly…
Grace Upon Grace by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]. For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:16-17, AMP). Last weekend was like the Super Bowl for our ministry. On Friday night in Philadelphia, Lane Jordan Burday and I received our Next Generation Gold (First Place) Book Award for our new Pearls of Promise 52-week devotional, Treasure. Then on Saturday, I walked the red…
Just One Person by Lane Jordan Burday
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). I had the great honor to work with Dr. Charles Stanley in his media ministry and saw the way God used his messages to spread the Gospel to the world. From humble beginnings of cassette tapes to his In Touch TV program to In Touch Messengers, a handheld device that has been sent throughout the world with God’s truth in every language. I received updates from people who have been saved through these…
There’s a Song for That by Onyx Conklin
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). As long as I can remember, music and I have always been best friends. I grew up on country music but as I got older I took in just about every genre of music I could find. Every song told a unique story, caused me to feel an assortment of emotions, and helped me to process my own feelings. I could slip my…
The God Lens by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you… (Ephesians 1:18). I’ve been extremely nearsighted since I was a little girl, but every morning when I walk, I am thankful for my corrected sight. There is so much of God’s creation to admire. There are beautiful Crepe Myrtle trees and Magnolias. One can scope out birds nesting and cute roly-poly bugs on the sidewalk. The ability to see through two eyes is miraculous. There are many parts to the eye, but the eye lens is the last…
The Practice of Joy by Lane Jordan Burday
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 NIV) One of the secrets of living a joyful life tomorrow is thinking strong, joyful thoughts today. The battles we win against our human nature are won or lost in the mind—thoughts of good or evil, joy or depression, success or failure. In Proverbs 23:7, the Bible says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” This verse…
Freedom is Important by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
It’s Flag Day, and I thought about writing something patriotic about this country, but the war between Israel and Iran is weighing me down. For Israel, this battle is about maintaining the freedom to exist, and as Iran edged closer to having the capability to obliterate Israel with nuclear weapons, the Israeli government had no choice but to act aggressively. It’s about protecting Israel from an oppressive regime that wants to destroy the Holy Land. Why is freedom important? Because God wants us to live in freedom, physically and spiritually. Anyone who has ever visited Israel knows that the presence…
Jesus is Stil With Us by Lane Jordan Burday
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him (Acts 1:8-9). This past Sunday, Dr. Megan Fate Marshman spoke at our church and shared that this was Pentecost Sunday, a Christian holiday which takes place 50 days after Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of…
He Loves Your Voice by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly (Psalm 5:3). The created body is an intricate, amazing design. Humans are created to move and think, but also created to speak. God gave us a larynx, with vocal cords running along its edges. By using ligaments and muscles, the vocal cords open and close, and together with the movements of the tongue and mouth, different sounds can be produced at different volumes, allowing us to vocalize words and sing. Isn’t that amazing? But here is something more incredible. God gave…
Taking a Stand by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Do you stand for what is right, no matter what opposition faces you? In today’s culture, supporting Israel and the Jewish people is not the most popular thing to do. After seeing what occurred in Boulder, Colorado, over the weekend, a visible allegiance to Israel has the potential to be dangerous. As volunteers from the organization “Run for Their Lives” peacefully gathered at the Pearl Street pedestrian mall in Boulder to call for the immediate release of Israelis being held hostage in Gaza, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman yelled, “Free Palestine,” then used a flame thrower, and threw two Molotov cocktails…
Warning System by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it (Isaiah 30:21). It’s that time of year in North Texas when the weather can turn from sunny to stormy in minutes. When it gets really bad, the emergency alert system interrupts programming. In the same way, the Holy Spirit provides an internal warning system. Have you ever spoken to someone when you got a check in your spirit that something was not right? It could have been the Spirit issuing a warning! During the Apostle Paul’s…
Who Causes the Tornadoes? by Lane Jordan Burday
Behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died (Job 1:19). A friend in my Bible Study shared a new resource that she is using as part of her quiet time. It is available on YouTube and is titled: “2BeLikeChrist.” These are 5-minute devotionals on the books of the Bible, and the author covers the entire Bible. Today, I listened to the first chapter of the book of Job. Job is probably not a book most of us read, but it is…
The Best Option by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31, NIV). Years ago, when I was a television sportscaster, someone told me that if you are rude to a person, he or she will tell 50 people about your behavior, so even if someone was irritating, I still tried to be patient and kind. It’s advice I still put into practice today. Love is always the best option,…
Who Are You? By Lane Jordan Burday
We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). Yes, no matter who you think you are or what others think of you, the God Who created the entire universe says you are His masterpiece! An original masterpiece, handcrafted by the Creator of the universe. It is hard to wrap your mind around, I know. Looking back on my childhood, I was smaller than anyone else. Sometimes the neighbor’s kids wouldn’t play with me because I was too small. I also…
From Darkness to Light by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5, NIV). Have you ever accomplished something you never dreamed you would accomplish? That’s how I feel about the Doctor of Ministry degree I just earned from King’s University. After four years of study and writing a mammoth paper, I walked across the graduation platform and was “hooded” as a doctor. My father, whom I never knew, was a medical doctor. I was always proud of his achievement, but did not think it was in the plan for my life to pursue a degree beyond a Master’s….
When Mother’s Day Isn’t Happy by Emily House
There are a lot of emotions surrounding Mother’s Day. For many, it’s a beautiful day—and I love that for them. Truly, I do. My hope for you is that you’re not even reading this. I hope most people saw the title and kept scrolling because they don’t relate. But if you are reading this, it’s likely because you, like me, have a complicated relationship with this day. My tendency is to just hide and let it pass. Don’t be a downer, let the happy people have the day. After all, it’s just one day, right? Not for me—and probably not…
A Fifteen-Minute Miracle by Lane Jordan Burday
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need (Matthew 6:33). I’m sure you have heard or read the verse above. In fact, I’ve read it so much that it can easily pass over what the real thought of the message is. But this is the great truth of this verse: If you and I seek God first, every day and above everything else, God will give you everything you need. How simple! Yet do we seek God first? The fifteen-minute miracle is when we start every day with God….
God is Our Focal Point by Lane Jordan Burday
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). I love to watch ballet performances, especially the Nutcracker, during the Christmas holiday. The professional dancers seem to dance like magic, especially when they make spin after spin after spin on their tiny point ballet shoes. A spinning ballerina can spin without losing her balance or place on the stage because she keeps her eyes fixed on a given point. She can spin without fault as long as she keeps her focus on that one point. As followers of Christ, we need to make…
Music is Medicine by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
This week, I attended the symphony at the Meyerson Symphony Center in downtown Dallas. It was a very special performance of Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terizín. During the Holocaust at the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, prisoner Rafael Schäcter, a graduate of the Prague Conservatory, using a smuggled score and a single piano, organized a 150-person Jewish choir to perform Verdi’s Requiem 16 times between 1943 and 1944. Singing the words to the Nazis gave the prisoners the courage to persevere and to defy Nazi brutality. Schächter told choir members, “We will sing to the Nazis what we cannot say to them.”…