Category Archives: Devils Lake Journal

Impoverished

There are many kinds of poverty. Several weeks ago, an eleven year old boy told me that when he was younger, there had been no food in the house. He had seen puppies nursing and had realized that they were receiving sustenance. He was so hungry that he had fed alongside those puppies from theContinue reading “Impoverished”

The Shining Wire

For a snare to work, an animal’s gut instinct must drive it to kill itself. Struggling against the snare is precisely what strangles it. Snares are ugly things. Anyone who has seen an animal in a snare doesn’t want to talk about it.  The Psalmist recognized a snare’s connection to sin, as did the Prophets.Continue reading “The Shining Wire”

No Recipe Needed

I’ve made copious amounts of chocolate chip cookies during my lifetime.  I’m not talking about hundreds, friends. It’s definitely in the thousands.  I’ve made chocolate chip cookies so often that I no longer need the recipe.  The way I see it, a chocolate chip cookie is appropriate to every possible social scenario. Neighborhood children needingContinue reading “No Recipe Needed”

Glorify God in Your Body

It’s a predictable pattern. A young teen does not feel safe in her home. Alcohol changes people she loves into monsters who cannot be trusted. This week, her little sister came to ask me to pray for her. “Sister cuts her legs and arms,” the little one said. Harm begets harm. When the Apostle PaulContinue reading “Glorify God in Your Body”

Chrome Commodes and Other Idols

The heavy metal door swung closed with a clang, and I was alone in the drunk tank. (That’s what they call the solitary confinement room in my local jail.)  The block walls and cement floor are bare. A shiny chrome commode adorns one corner. It seems larger than it is because it is the onlyContinue reading “Chrome Commodes and Other Idols”

Of Nails and Sparrows

Heman was an important man. He was the grandson of Samuel, the prophet, in the Old Testament days of conquest. He was a Levite, of the tribe of Levi, specially chosen to serve God in regard to the holy things of the tabernacle.  Talented. Pedigreed. Chosen. Capable.  During David’s reign, Heman was appointed as aContinue reading “Of Nails and Sparrows”

The Chicken or the Egg?

I collect eggs from my chicken coop everyday. It’s an opportunity to practice philosophy: Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Philosophy is limited, however. It only leads full circle. If there weren’t any eggs, there would cease to be chickens. And if there weren’t any chickens, there wouldn’t be any eggs.  I foundContinue reading “The Chicken or the Egg?”

Climbing the Ladder

They tithed their mint and rue and dill. They saw each little pinch of powdered herb as a step up the ladder.  The Pharisees were climbing their way to heaven, and no renegade street preacher was going to say otherwise.  They were offended when He insulted their good works, and they pressed him hard, provokingContinue reading “Climbing the Ladder”

Paralogical Delusions

We have been doing a lot of addition and subtraction drills at our house. Before we can move on to multiplication, we need a firm grasp of what you get when you add two and two.  Sometimes, my son is frustrated.  “How can this and this add up to that?” he demands.  It’s a reasonableContinue reading “Paralogical Delusions”