MyLeslieNotebook

Sometimes I read a passage of Scripture that feels just as fresh as a brand-new book. Not only that, but I feel like it's some sort of secret that God kept for me, waiting for the perfect time to understand what it says and know what I should do with it. Second Timothy is that book today. I almost feel guilty reading it; I mean, it was from the old man Paul to young Timothy, who was a preacher, missionary, and friend. It is as personal as perhaps any other letter in the Bible. In it, Paul asked Timothy to bring him his coat before winter (4:13), warned Timothy to be cautious around a man who did him harm (4:14-15), identified some men by name  who have turned away from truth (2:17), and praised the faith of Timothy's mother and grandmother (1:5), who Paul obviously knew and was able to see that same faith passed down to young Timothy. So personal. So specific. An older to a younger, conveying not only wisdom but urgency: not only was Paul looking at his own death (4:18) b...

I spent some time recently trying to learn all I could about God and boiling it down to the main points. Here was my task: for the new believer or for the Christian who was really trying to learn what the Bible said and meant, who is God the Father ?  I jotted down the things I knew: God is good. God is love. God is great.  But I got to a description that I knew mentally but had never really considered all the implications: God is eternal.  El Olam is a name used in Scripture when someone wanted to give God honor for His eternal nature. It was first used by Abraham in Genesis 21:33, when God had proven Himself to be faithful by giving Abraham the son of promise, Isaac. And Abraham called God El Olam as he planted a tree, probably as a constant reminder of God's faithfulness in the past as well as the future. You knew God always existed. That He always was and He always will be. Cool, right?  But there is so much more  to God being eternal. And I'm goin...

I'm writing you today not to fuss at you. Not to berate you. Not to tell you to "just chill out" and expect it all to get better.  Because I know your anxiety is real. Your stress is real. You have real concerns and real deadlines and real fears and real life , for crying out loud. The world makes you anxious, the unknown makes you anxious, and even your friends and family make you anxious. I'm writing to tell you there is hope for your anxiety. I'm not discounting help from a doctor or a counselor or someone who can walk beside you professionally, but I am telling you that I know where you can start:  "Do not be anxious about anything," (Philippians 4:6). Paul's words aren't condemning or bossy; they are opening the door to the solution: "but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving , present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6).  Pray in every situation . Be thankful in every situation . There's ...

My son Daniel got a headache at lunch last Tuesday. By that afternoon it was a full-blown fever. For the rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday and Thursday, he was totally miserable. Temperature over 103. He just laid on the couch and felt terrible. You've been there. You understand. He was pitiful. But on Friday morning, he woke up and his head did not feel hot. I took his temperature: 97.9. I screamed with joy. I started singing,  This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it... The rejuvenated Daniel and his sister Shelby joined in at the top of their lungs. (Four-year-old Shelby, my overly-social child, had suffered almost as much as her brother over the past three days. She may as well have been sick herself with no one to play with!) The song is based on Psalm 118:24, which says, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (HCSB)...