Lest you think that my life of following Jesus every day in the everyday is somehow floating blissfully over a verdant landscape flowing with milk and honey, it’s time for more full disclosure. Sometimes, my relationship with God looks more like a slugfest. On Sunday Pastor Adam gave up stepping Read more
John reports (John 13) “the time had come” for Jesus to go to the Father. In this case it was a period of about 50 days. For the last three years Jesus had loved His own…His own disciples, the Twelve; His own people, Israel; His own sheep, any who heard Read more
I woke this morning with unanticipated pain. In a fallen world like ours, pain is to be expected: It came with the first act of disobedience. It is a gift: It warns us that something is amiss. It is an opportunity: It invites us to explore our hearts. My first Read more
Caution tape surrounds my house today, and there are the sounds of drills, hammers and work boots on my roof. After what seems like too long a time, our solar panels are undergoing the process of restoration. For the last few years, they have faithfully converted our abundant sunshine into Read more
I love Psalm 107. It’s just so…comforting, I guess. It starts with the command to express thanks to God for His enduring faithfulness. What comes next are four scenarios of people in trouble: –trouble because of what God is doing to bring them out of exile, –trouble because their rebellion Read more
Recently a reader suggested that my posts were written looking for sympathy. At first it stung a little, but it did prompt me to look at my motives. I have some choices of how to respond when someone challenges me. I can bristle and rebel and say “How dare you Read more
This day has been a pain in the back. Literally. I have been sitting with a sock of heated beans against my lower back all morning. I don’t know what I did to it; I just know it hurts to bend, reach, stretch and, worst of all, walk! Actually, there Read more
Ancient covenants were more like peace treaties, but between ruler and subjects. The sovereign promised protection from enemies and provision of shelter and sustenance. The burden for these two things rested on the one ruling. The subjects were responsible for loyalty and obedience. They were not to commit treason, or Read more
O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in, Be born in us today. Jesus came to show us the Father. Everything true about Jesus is true about the Father. To have Jesus born in us…means we are never far from His Read more
Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. –Luke 1:38 With only a few days till Christmas, my schedule feels even more full than normal. Regular household work competes with parties and decorating, and the rivalry generates chaos. Just after I Read more