Pray without ceasing. —1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV It was a brisk spring day in downtown Annapolis, Maryland. A friend and I were strolling by shops looking for a place to have lunch. I was a brand-new teacher at a local Christian school and all excited about my new job and the pretty town where it was located. I had only one very small problem on my mind. I wore my hair in bangs, had tried to trim them that morning—but had cut them way too short. I told my friend how frustrated I was and how silly I felt with the extra-short bangs flopping on my forehead. She stopped and turned toward me. She grabbed both my hands in hers. And right there on a […] Read more »

But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong. —Job 2:10 NLT How prepared are you for a power outage at your house? I’d love to be able to say that we have flashlights in every room, batteries checked monthly, and all at the ready should our power go out. However … that would not be true. Truth is, when the power goes out, especially if it’s a dark night, quite a bit of fumbling goes on around the Gamble household as we try to remember where the flashlights are—and hope their batteries are working! But one thing we know, no matter […] Read more »

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right to accuse him. —Zechariah 3:1 NASB Accuse: to charge with a fault or offense: blame. —Merriam Webster Dictionary Have you ever been falsely accused? Blindsided by an angry person who attributed motives to you that were absolutely foreign to what you were attempting to do? Back in my waitressing days in college, I remember being accused when I was just doing my job and serving a man his breakfast at the Denny’s restaurant counter. “Here you go, sir!” I said with a smile, as I set his plate before him. He put down his coffee mug and looked up at me with disgust in […] Read more »

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. —Romans 10:9 NIV Take just a moment and read our verse for today’s Musings one more time: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s pretty simple, isn’t it? You don’t have to hike 1,000 miles. You don’t have to memorize a long list of things to do. Or not do. You don’t have to be born into the right family. You declare Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Yup. That’s it. […] Read more »