Learning to love others the way Jesus loves us
Psalm 27 I am calling this the Psalm of "no matter what." As I read it this morning, all I could think was that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39). In this psalm, David lists all the ways God is with us no matter what. Verses 2-3 No matter what,… Continue reading No matter what
Romans 5:5 "Hope does not put us to shame." (ESV) What does that mean? Why should hope be shameful? I pondered this notion until I realized that it happens all the time. Social media posts about prayer become targets for ridicule. Hopeful people are sometimes treated like they don't know or don't care about human… Continue reading Grounded in love
Romans 5:3 Rejoice in suffering. Now that sounds fun. Don't we have enough to deal with right now with pandemic and racism and Zoom fatigue and hurricanes and wildfires? And we have to be joyful about it? In a word, yes. We don't need to be happy about suffering, but we can choose joy over… Continue reading Choose joy in suffering
Romans 5:2 We have peace with God because Jesus is the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him (Hebrews 5:9.) What does this mean? It means we have ACCESS to grace and JOY in hope no matter what our circumstances may be. We stand on a foundation of salvation because Jesus did the… Continue reading By faith
Romans 5:1 We are justified by faith; Jesus did the work. What a beautiful reminder that we can rest in knowing our salvation is already worked out for us. In this ever changing world we can have peace with God, not by our own doing, but because Jesus did. Today is Labor Day. It is… Continue reading Justified
Psalm 119:49-56 For many of us COVID19 quarantines are beginning to lift. More people are out and about, some businesses are reopening, and churches are making plans to start modified gatherings for worship. For some people the reopening of society is a relief; for others it represents a new kind of uncertainty. The cultural narrative… Continue reading ZAYIN
Psalm 119:41-48 There is a clear and distinct connection between God's love and God's law; they co-exist. Our testimony as believers is rooted in how we both reconcile and live out both love and law. It's recursive: the law shows us our utter helplessness to be holy, His love provided our salvation, and our appropriate… Continue reading WAW
James 1:1-2 I am a pragmatic philosopher at heart. While it's interesting to consider all the possibilities of all possible worlds in time and space, at the end of the day, I want what is useful. So did James. As the brother of Jesus he was skeptical until after the resurrection. I mean, having a… Continue reading Joy in the middle
Matthew 14:14-33 At the church I attend here in Las Vegas we are working through a study of what it means to be a Jesus follower. This morning's reading included then section of Matthew where Jesus walked on water. I went back a few verses for context and I think someone who reads this may… Continue reading Take heart.
Jonah 4 So, one might think Jonah would get excited when the whole city of Nineveh repented of their violence and false religions. But no. Jonah was ticked off. Why? Because he decided the God was too gracious, too merciful, too patient, and too loving. He certainly didn't think so when he was surrounded by… Continue reading Jonah’s drama, God’s mercy
Defaulting to Grace 