Lead Me to the Rock

 From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.    Psalm 61:2

                            

Murky darkness blanketed the city. For miles on either side, cars inched through fog, drivers straining to see six inches past their hoods. The ditches were packed with vehicles that missed a turn or crashed in the gloom. Trying to move forward while enveloped in fog was dangerous or nearly impossible. 

Above the fog, clear skies promised a beautiful day. However, only the drivers headed up the mountain would see it. The rest would continue to struggle in a sea of other confused drivers. Some cursed the fog while others the rammed vehicles in front of them, none imagining there was any way out.

Every one of us has been stalled in a thick fog like that. Fears and tragedies swirl around us, blinding us to anything but Satan’s prophecies: “You’re going down this time,” comes a voice from the mist. “You’re such a failure even God is done with you. This will never get better.” We feel we’re at the ends of the earth: Where is God? Does He see this? Does He care? We inch through the darkness searching for relief. Some find alcohol, some pills or sex or gambling, but those only make the darkness thicker. 

This Psalm is a flashlight, pointing us toward real help. When we head for the Rock, a high place where fog dissipates, we start to see clearer. We reach for His hand. “Lead me out,” we cry. “Help me see this the way you do.” And as we allow God to pull us into His perspective, we realize that only from the Rock can we see hope on the other side

                                Where do you run when your heart is faint?

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Clandestine

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.   

Ephesians 6:12

 In a bottomless cavern near the center of the earth, a meeting was in progress. Creatures seen only in nightmares were gathered before a monster so hideous he often frightened himself. Principalis had once been beautiful and that knowledge was a dagger that twisted at every glimpse of his reflection. Pain fueled his rage, but it was this legendary rage that had earned his title as prince of North America. His appearance was intended to terrify, but it was his voice that sizzled. Like water droplets hitting hot grease, his voice pierced the toughest armor and branded the ears of any who heard it. 

“It’s as we thought,” he snarled. “The Bright One has plans to demolish our empire. Call your forces. Call your chiefs. Call the powers, authorities, rulers…I want them all on this. He cannot have my town. It’s MY empire. My right to deceive and destroy if I wish. This is war.”

 A universe away, light sparkled and danced like a billion electrical charges, illuminating another meeting in progress. “So everyone is clear on the Master’s instruction?” The voice came from a majestic creature that resembled a bronze sculpture. His booming voice conveyed unquestioned authority. Head nods rippled around the room from a throng of creatures that would be frightening if they didn’t radiate with a power so great it made the air sizzle. Yet, it was power under command. Controlled and decisive, these were not beings to be trifled with.

“Our new assignment is a city owned by the Evil One,” Dre announced. An enemy stronghold, it’s ruled by Principalis himself. But the LORD wants it back. The enemy will not go easily, so this will require sacrifice. But we meet his evil with the power of Almighty Adonai. “Yes!” came the shouts. “Victory to our God!”

 

Check out Clandestine by Lea Ann McCombs. Available on Amazon or at the CP merch table.

NEW BOOK RELEASED!

Is it an innocent invitation to a class reunion...or is it something more? For six former classmates, an invitation to a thirty-year reunion is more like a summons. It hints at buried secrets that could destroy the lives they've built for themselves. With the clock counting down to June 6th, they make frantic decisions that lead to outcomes they never expected. What would you do with such an invitation?

THE REUNION.....NOW LIVE ON AMAZON!

A Final Legacy

You are on your deathbed. 

Your loved ones gather around, speaking their last words to you. Then in comes your son, daughter, grandchild, or godchild. The one you’ve cherished since your eyes first met. You’ve baked them cookies, taught them to hit a ball, cheered at their recitals, and held back tears with every milestone. Now they wait for your parting words. You’ve said “I love you” a million times, but this is it. The last goodbye. What do you say?

King David faced that moment before he died. His son Solomon had listened to instructions about running a kingdom. He’d already been lectured about wild women, drinking too much, and the best investment tips. But this was it. The last goodbye. What did his father say?

“Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and willing mind” (1 Chron. 28:9) The most important legacy David could leave his son was the admonition to know God and serve Him. If Solomon followed only that piece of advice, he wouldn’t need the rest.

Knowing God leads us to wisdom, to good moral choices, to financial freedom. When knowing and serving God are our life’s goals, our children and grandchildren see it because it colors everything we do.

The greatest legacy we can leave the younger generation is the instruction to know God and serve Him with a whole heart.

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Good Enough for God?

                                          

1. “If I straighten up, God might find me worthy of saving.”
2. “I make sure my good outweighs my bad, so I’ll probably make it to heaven.”
3. “I try to follow all the rules, be a good person, and go to church. So I think God considers me a Christian.”

Which of these statements is true? None of them. But we hear versions of them all the time, so let’s consider why they’re false.

1. If God waited until we straightened up, He’d still be waiting.
2. If our good could outweigh our bad, we wouldn’t need Jesus.
3. It’s impossible to follow all the rules (613 in the Jewish law). And whose standard are we using when we call ourselves “good?” One sin mars perfection. Going to church doesn’t make us Christians any more than going to the lake makes us fish.

 
The scripture makes it clear that “…while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”(Romans 5:8). In other words, God met us where we are. He knows we can’t be good enough. He gave the law to show us how far off the mark we are. Until we realize and admit we’re doomed, we can’t appreciate what Jesus did for us. We don’t appreciate a fireman until we’re trapped in a burning building or a policeman until we’re being assulted. And we don’t appreciate Jesus until we realize just how lost we are without Him.

 When we could do nothing to save ourselves, 

God met us where we were and He did the rest.

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Supreme Court Ruling is Only Dangerous--If she tries to kill her baby

Today is a momentous day in our nation’s history. For the first time in 50 years, federal protection for abortion has been struck down and the decision returned to the states.

But it is very strange to listen to the wailing commentators and Planned Parenthood hand-wringers. One thing I notice is that they treat the word “abortion” as a clinical term, intentionally distancing it from its reality and instead calling it “women’s health.” There is nothing healthy about a woman voluntarily ripping a developing child from her womb and allowing strangers to slaughter it. But they don’t tell you that.

Here’s a sample of what is flooding the airways:

“Women’s health is severely threatened with this ruling!”
“This is anti-woman!”
“Women will die!”
“Women should have the right to healthcare of their choice!”

But they don’t complete the thought, because if they did, their outrage would not make sense. So let’s make these factual, not emotional, statements by completing the sentence with: “…IF they try to kill their babies.”

“Women’s health is severely threatened by this ruling-if they try to kill their babies!”
“This is anti-woman- if they try to kill their babies!”
“Women will die- if they try to kill their babies!”
“Women should have the right to healthcare of their choice- and to kill their babies!”

It doesn’t sound so righteous when the sentence is completed. If there is nothing wrong with abortion, then complete the thought, Mr./Ms. Reporter. Tell us what this ruling means, but tell us everything.

• Tell us how healthy abortions are for both patients, mother and child.
• Tell us about the abortive mothers who still cry thirty years later.
• Tell us about the dismembered infants who’ve been sold for parts.
• Tell us about the damage to a woman’s reproductive system after having it savagely attacked by a licensed physician.
• Tell us about the PTSD she suffers when she realizes her child was not a blob of tissue.
• Tell us about the children who survived these safe, legal abortions and live with permanent disabilities.
• Tell us what it does to a nation’s soul when we look the other way while millions of innocents are slaughtered in the name of “women’s health.”
• Tell us why we should value anyone’s life if we don’t value infant life.
• Tell us why the U.S. government should allow ANY citizen to kill ANY child simply because he/she is inconvenient or unwanted.

This ruling is NOT a threat to a woman’s health--if she doesn’t try to kill her baby.

When we take pride in that which God has forbidden, He sounds a warning…