When the Menu is Manna

I t was an icy day in January 2009. US Airways Flight 1549 from New York's LaGuardia Airport in New York City had just attempted takeoff headed for Charlotte, North Carolina, when a flock of birds flew right into both engines, causing a loss of power to the aircraft. Captain CB Sully had no alternatives to landing the plane in the frigid waters of the Hudson River. Within minutes, ferries arrived to rescue people who were now clinging to the outside of the aircraft's wings, as well as others who were floating on available rafts, while some had been thrust straight into the Hudson River. However, no matter where they landed, they were all rescued!  It has been said that Captain Sully refused to leave the aircraft until all his passengers had safely evacuated. This rescue is known as the Miracle on the Hudson. I am sure the captain and his crew had practiced, discussed, and walked through emergency procedures countless times, which had helped to make the rescue that day successfu...

                                                             T he cross had been standing on a high point overlooking a part of the city below for as long as I could remember. Every day, people came and went, passing by on their way to wherever their busy lives were taking them. Sometimes, I too passed by and wondered why it stood there, isolated and seemingly disconnected from anything else in the landscape. In recent years, I have come to understand the significance of its presence. A single cross was planted on that high hill by a gentleman who met Christ later in life. His past had been questionable at times, and this marked the beginning of his new life and acceptance of the finished work of Christ, accomplished in his life through the cross —a memorial to the One who had transformed his life forever.  For passersby, he offe...

"God? My food. Amen." This is the earliest prayer I can remember one of my girls praying. Although a few words were missing, and it lacked eloquence, I am positive God had no trouble filling in the gaps with the words that were in her heart, but not yet on her lips. As a young mother, my greatest desire was for my girls to have a sense of God's presence in our home. I wanted them to think of Him as a family member in our house, one that belonged, so that as they grew in their understanding of who He was, they would also come to know Him personally.   In Luke 13:1, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray like they had heard Him pray. Perhaps they were seeking words that they thought would be required to reach God, but Jesus did not provide them with a specific prayer to pray. Instead, He offered them a model that would help them realize the truths about God and become grounded in their faith. These truths included acknowledging God as their Father, being mindful o...

 Every day  they pass me by, I can see it in their eyes. Empty people filled with care, Headed who knows where? On they go through private pain, Living fear to fear. Laughter hides their silent cries, Only Jesus hears. People need the Lord; people need the Lord. At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door. People need the Lord; people need the Lord. When will we realize, people need the Lord? We are called to take His light To a world where wrong seems right. What could be too great a cost For sharing Life with one who's lost? Through His love our hearts can feel All the grief they bear. They must hear the Words of Life Only we can share. People need the Lord, people need the Lord At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door. People need the Lord, people need the Lord. When will we realize that we must give our lives, For peo-ple need the Lord. People need the Lord. By Steve Green

                        "The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace."          Psalm 29:11 Peace. There is nothing quite like it and much to be desired without it. I still recall vividly a time in my life when the peace of God seemed to envelop me, unlike anything I had ever experienced. I was only 23 years old and had recently become a widow. On this particular day, I was driving to visit my sister. So many thoughts were racing through my mind. Things like, Am I going to get through this? Should I sell the house? What about going back to school? Will I have enough means to survive? Worrisome thoughts continued to bombard my mind, but at the most significant point of my despair that day, a sudden wave of peace began to wash over me right there on the interstate. No blinding lights, no loud commanding voice of instruction. In fact, there was no sound at all. Just a qui...

  J ust start walking...Perhaps this was Abram's (later Abraham's) motto, as seemingly out of nowhere, God called him to do something that, in my mind's eye, seemed to ask a lot of a foreigner who did not even know who God was, let alone follow Him. Yet that is precisely what God did. Oh, to be a fly on the wall between God's call and Abram's decision! I can imagine the family conversations, the weighing in or out of such an offer. The risk involved and the obscurity of this promise from a God unknown to Him. Yet, Abram got up and followed God right out of his comfort zone to a place he had never been or heard of all on the premise that God said He had chosen Abram to make him a great nation. In fact, God said His descendants would be so vast that they would not be able to be measured by the grains of sand on the beach or the number of stars in the sky. I would like to know if Abram had any reservations. Did he ask around if anyone knew this "God" who had ...

                                          " J ump in. I'll catch you." I can still see my mama standing in the water of the neighborhood pool with arms outstretched. Just learning to swim, the thought of jumping into the pool was, to say the least, terrifying! Extremely fearful of deep water from an early age, this invitation proved no exception to such a fear. Yet there she stood, waiting for me to jump with arms outstretched. For a moment, I briefly considered this invitation. Should I jump or go on strike, sit down on the edge of the pool, cross my arms, nod my head side to side, and say, "No, thank you."? (I typically was a polite child, but I considered noncompliance at this point.) However, I didn't do that at all! Instead, based on what I knew about my mother's trustworthiness, I decided to jump. She kept her word and caught me just as she promised. From that moment, fear was ...