deserts 06/25/2025

06/25 I’ve had the occasion to set foot in a couple of desert places: the Badlands of South Dakota and the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico. What do they have in common? They’re DRY! I don’t want to live there yet you do see life in those inhospitable places. In Acts 8:26 a disciple of Jesus, Philip, is told to “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” It’s there he meets an Ethiopian official searching the book of Isaiah for God’s truth. (You can read the rest of the story in Acts 8.) What I’m asking myself is, “where are the desert places today?” Jesus is the “living water”. Where is the “living water” so scarce life is barely present? A few places immediately come to mine: public education, especially higher education, major city centers, media outlets, including social media. Spiritual deserts! We can stay in well-watered oases (i.e. our church family) or we can “go down the desert road” offering living water to the thirsty. Lord, help me recognize desert dwellers today and give me courage to speak life. PK