Who considers that when Jesus washed feet, He washed twelve pairs…not eleven? The cobblestone city streets were likely to be strewn with animal droppings and covered with dusty dirt or clingy mud. Even in sandals, feet sweat. Especially in sandals, they were the most likely limb to be injured and 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…
So…there is every day and everyday. There is day-after-day and thoughtless routine… autopilot, if you will. One of my “every day” things is time in the Scriptures. Sometimes that time is an unengaged habit. Sometimes it is a rock-my-world event! Even remembering the horrific suffering and brutal death of Jesus 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…
Whichever news source you read or hear, there is news better than we know! And no matter how well we “know” it, there is always more to learn and explore. I am speaking of the good news for all people. This news is so hard for us to grasp that many have Read more…
If I had received the affirmation from my parents that I desired, if I had garnered the attention of young men I longed for, had heard the accolades I dreamed of from or found the acceptance I looked for… I do not know what might have been. It no longer Read more…
A few days ago, our prayer ministry team was blessed with a brief day retreat in the pines and meadows of the Mogollon Rim country. Turned loose for two whole hours to be quiet with Jesus near the softly chuckling creek, under the whispering walnuts, or in view of the Read more…
My dining room table is still clothed in its Easter finery and centered with a clear glass bucket full of bright plastic eggs loaded with fruit-flavored jelly beans or Dove caramel-filled dark chocolates. As I collect the strays that escaped the basket-bearing hunters, I find myself wondering whether I have Read more…
Names are a big deal in the Bible. They are not just a handle to use to find someone on Facebook; names are intricately linked to character qualities, divine assignment or to historical events. Cities have names that reflect the builder, the geography around it, or the ruler-ship of it. Read more…