Learning to love others the way Jesus loves us
Now what? My goodness. Just when I begin to think the divisive politicking of the American public has reached the bottom, something happens on one extreme side or the other to show me more depths of depravity. Morally vacant candidates fight to see which commits the most egregious sins. Old men stuck in decades past… Continue reading Grace, politics, and Gen Z
Where grace endures. I am currently working through Jennifer Rothschild’s excellent study on the minor prophet, Amos with my ladies Bible study. When the women’s ministry settled on Amos for fall I was both intrigued and excited. Intrigued because the minor prophets don’t have the touchy-feely vibe most weekday women’s Bible studies want (I long… Continue reading Undivided loyalty
Sometimes the most direct path is not a straight line #inspiredbyasermon Mark 7:31-37 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him… Continue reading Of circuitous routes and cleansing sighs
Is God, by His silence, creating space for us to wrestle as Jacob did? Caught in-between. For some of us, it's a space between jobs or transitions between life stages, especially the years between active parenting and the empty nest. For others it may be changing locations or churches. There are times in everyone's life… Continue reading When God seems silent: Part two
The Feast of Trumpets A new year means both reflection and rejoicing A Good Year Leviticus 23: 23-25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy… Continue reading Shanah Tovah: שנה טובה
Why congregations need to show grace to their leaders. Satan and his demons will do anything to silence the Church. When external persecution is impractical for whatever reason, they exploit human frailties within individual churches. Leaders, especially pastors and priests, find themselves in complex moral, social, and cultural battles on a regular basis. The Church… Continue reading Show yourself beautiful
John 21:15-18 You have to appreciate Peter. He's an all-or-nothing kind of guy who cannot hide his feelings or control what comes out of his mouth. He makes big claims and even bigger mistakes. And Jesus clearly loves that about him. In that love, Jesus also teaches, disciplines, and molds Peter into the apostle who… Continue reading Lessons from a charcoal fire
The God who worked wonders in the past is faithful to keep His promises still (Psalm 77:14; Psalm 86:15). To say we live in troubling times is an understatement. Every day some new catastrophe floods the news cycles: natural disasters, crime, social issues, education, politics, and uncertainty about the economy threaten our personal well-being and… Continue reading Faithful through the Ages
How Noah responded to the grace of the Lord and what that means for us GRACE: charitos (χάριτος) Charis (Χάρις) appears more than 150 times in the Bible, mostly in the letters written by Paul. The first usage of the concept, however, is not for first-century Christians, but for pre-Abrahamic Noah (Genesis 6:8) when the… Continue reading Grace and Gopher wood
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. "I can do hard things" is the current cultural parallel to this verse and is the meaning many cultural Christians intend when they call on it as inspiration to achieve something. But Paul was not advocating that believers be like the "Little Train that Could," approaching… Continue reading Philippians 4:13
Defaulting to Grace 