Learning to love others the way Jesus loves us
Jesus is the Light And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness,… Continue reading 1 John 4:4-7
a summer study through the letters of John This summer I want to dive into the letters of John for Tuesday devotionals. It's mostly for me, but I welcome your company on the journey! "The life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life,… Continue reading 1 John 1:1-3
Reflection after Memorial Day By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 1 John 3:16 The driving force for all followers of Jesus must be love. Love God and love others are the two greatest commandments. We cannot show… Continue reading Love is greater
Speaking the truth in love I started writing this chapter in August of 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic. Two-and-a-half years later, most of it still holds. If anything, churches are often more divided over world views, and if not divided, more deeply entrenched in their cultural belief systems, turning away from the… Continue reading Defaulting to grace over worldviews: Part three
Worldviews in the church I started writing this chapter in August of 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic. Two-and-a-half years later, most of it still holds. If anything, churches are often more divided over world views, and if not divided, more deeply entrenched in their cultural belief systems, turning away from the simplicity… Continue reading Defaulting to grace: Part two
Part One: Why grace over world views matter The things we think and do while we live on earth reflect our belief systems and world views. If we engage in worldly disputes within the Church, how can we be united as Jesus' followers reaching out to a lost world? What are the points of view… Continue reading Defaulting to grace in the Church over world views
Habakkuk 1:12-2:20 But the Lord is in his holy temple; let the whole earth be silent in his presence. Habakkuk 2:20 The world has changed significantly since I first wrote through Habakkuk in 2020. You know what hasn't changed? The Lord God, Holy One (קָדוֹשׁ אֱלֹהִים יְהֹוָה), YaHWeH Elohim Kadosh (Habakkuk 1:12) never changes. In… Continue reading Revisiting Habakkuk, Part Two
I wrote a four-day reflection on the book of Habakkuk in January of 2020. I had just begun my second semester at UNLV. There were whispers of a strange new virus coming out of China, but no hint at how that news might unfold. Reports of anger, division, injustice, and violence dominated the nightly news.… Continue reading Revisiting Habakkuk
How do we determine the value of a life? I opened my Substack inbox on April 1 and was struck by the very pretty face of a young woman leaning contentedly on a man's chest. The story headline read, "I'm 28. And I'm Scheduled to Die in May." It wasn't a joke. As I read… Continue reading Dignity, not Death
Confrontations and conversations during Jesus' last days Mark 11-12 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a… Continue reading Not just another Tuesday
Defaulting to Grace 