Author Archives: Julianne Winkler Smith

And they were watching (Jesus) closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  ~ Mark 3:2 As I was reading through the first few chapters of Mark’s gospel, an interesting rhythm arose in chapters 2 and 3 as Jesus walked out the start of His earthly ministry. As He taught, healed,Continue reading “clipboard Christians”

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;Continue reading “carried”

I have become a marvel to many, For You are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with Your praise And with Your glory all day long. Do not cast me away at the time of my old age; Do not abandon me when my strength fails. ~Psalm 71:7-9 In 2009, Apple launched an iPhone campaign touting all the various applications availableContinue reading “old & gray”

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?   ~Psalm 56:3-4 Life is hard. And that’s an understatement. Our current crisis or challenge could be with regard to a relationship (family or otherwise), illness (ours or a loved one),Continue reading “when, not if”

Then Moses said to the Lord, “…Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’Now then, if I have found favor in Your sight in any way, please let me know Your ways so that I may know You, in order that I may find favorContinue reading “circle of grace”

But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take off the veil until he came out; and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded, the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone. ~Exodus 34:34-35aContinue reading “glow”

Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.”  ~Exodus 32:1 The eventsContinue reading “making calves”

Joshua did just as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. So it came about, when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed; but when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. And Moses’ hands were heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him,Continue reading “Him/Hur”

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ~ Matthew 6:1 Social media has created look-at-me monsters in our society, birthing the selfie (which was not actually a thing at one point, I promise), as wellContinue reading “unseen, not unnoticed”

(The Lord) will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with fairness. Psalm 98:9 There’s a lot of talk these days about justice…and pardons. In fact, until recent months (and days) the concept of pardoning probably didn’t cross our minds. Then, rather suddenly, they’re flying around like those old Oprah days when she had herContinue reading “justice is served”