I have a lot of friends, pastors and non-pastors alike, believers and unbelievers too, who are going through deep valleys of pain, illness, loss, sorrows, and betrayals right now. No one is immune to these things. Life, since the fall and until Jesus returns, has always meant that all these things will visit our lives … More Thinking about Sorrow
I have a confession to make. I have never seen even one episode of the Walking Dead! It just didn’t seem like a good investment of my time. But today I ran across a humorous, if somewhat dated (you will understand in a moment) story about a company’s attempt to drum up some business, and … More The Walking Dead
I was reading this morning in Mark and saw something that I had never seen before. Side note: Isn’t that remarkable in itself! I have been a Bible reader for over 50 years, have read the Gospel of Mark at least 100, maybe 150 times, and I am still making new observations and discoveries in … More Why Did Jesus Bless Children?
Have you ever been falsely accused of something? Silly question. All of us have at one time or another. Sometimes it was minor. Sometimes it was life-altering. Always, it was painful. Even the Savior of the world was falsely accused which puts us in good company. King David wrote about his own “valley of the … More Without Cause
Yesterday evening, I attended a Christmas service that included a wonderful message and an impromptu children’s reenactment of the Christmas story. Just before the message, the pastor gave the microphone to anyone in the congregation who wanted to answer the question, “What does Christ mean to you?” “Here’s the catch,” he said, “you have to … More Christmas: What does Christ mean to you?
I woke up with a clear thought early this morning. Clarity is never to be wasted. So, though it is 3:17 AM, I have stumbled out of bed and come here to my living room perch, overlooking the backyard that I can’t see now, but moments ago was filled with a moonlight so bright that … More Waking Up with a Clear Thought
Working through my annual reading plan of the Bible. Today, I arrived at Numbers 1. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. But then the Spirit of God opened my eyes to see something I have read at least 40 times over the years. It was always there; I was just blind to it—until I needed it, … More Surprising Finds in Scripture
The Christian Science Monitor published an article on November 21 on the ’70’s rock icon Buffy Sainte-Marie. (Just an aside, there is nothing scientific or Christian to the religious organization “Christian Science”.) The article titled, “First lady of Indigenous music: Buffy Sainte-Marie on her storied career”. The Cree Indian, with an Academy Award in addition … More A Cree Indian Rock Star and a Lesson on Hope
Sometimes life sucks. I’m not talking about debilitating illness or tragic losses or accidents that complicate life and strain finances or betrayals of loyalty and love that hit us like a freight train with sadness and weight. These are the kind of things that are more than painful. They are frightening. And they are soul … More Loving Through Hurt
I have long been a reader and fan of Bonhoeffer. Indeed, I wore out a copy of Letters and Papers from Prison that my daughter happily replaced for me one Christmas morning a dozen years back. Today, in my reading I was reminded of this famous poem by Bonhoeffer, and I thought, “This is worth … More Bonhoeffer’s Poem
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