I heard Jesus inviting me to come away one Saturday morning not long ago, or I would have remained in bed despite the urging of my alarm. (Exhaustion seems to be the theme of my life lately.) Yet there I was. I was not alone. I had anxiety, fear, burdens, Read more…
Jesus says He never did anything without His Father. “I only speak what I hear the Father saying.” “I only do what I see the Father doing.” “I can do nothing apart from my Father.” If any other human said that, psychology would say he’s got co-dependence issues and needs Read more…
So…what if the way I have approached repentance is upside down? What if being transformed into the likeness of Jesus is not about me listing all my sins, grieving deeply enough over them, coming up with a strategy to distance myself from them and all the situations that provide temptation? Read more…
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well. — Matthew 6:33 So…about those leaf-hoppers… My current theory (or insight) is that the tiny, sap-sucking things are very like the “secret” critic that often infests the places that Jesus means me to live Read more…
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well. — Matthew 6:33 Jesus does not tell us to produce His righteousness, but to seek it, search for it, go after it. In fact, the command “Be holy as I am holy,” actually means: Read more…
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well. -Matthew 6:3 This week seeking His kingdom before mine looks like swapping out a planned writing session for listening to a heart-breaking story and making space to let Read more…
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well. -Matthew 6:33 I didn’t want to go. I was warm and comfy in my quiet time corner, Bible and journal in my lap. It is cold outside, (at least for here in the Arizona Read more…
When the inevitable round of new-year-new-you articles and advertisements come out, my inbox fills with guilt-inducing, wishful-thinking, low-monthly-payment plans for transformation. Jesus has His own plan for change. He started His earthly ministry with the message: “change your thinking.” This is much more slippery to grasp than a five-step plan Read more…
I do not write because I myself have something to offer, but because all I have is the One who is always Who we need. I have nothing but Jesus. Following Him today, in a time of pain and loss, means I hold on to the only thing that does Read more…
Following Jesus in the everyday means living a life characterized by faith. Guys like Abraham demonstrated their confidence in what God says by packing up and leaving their homeland. I haven’t been asked to do that…at least not yet, but I have been invited to declare my citizenship in a Read more…