Sunday, September 13, 2020 | Reflections
Like many Christians, I seek to serve; I look for opportunities to help. Unwittingly I appoint myself judge over who needs help and what help they need. I see the homeless on the street and decide who to give to and in what amount.Congregations and community groups...
Saturday, September 12, 2020 | Reflections
As a consultant, I am often invited into spaces where I may know less than those I am advising. I do not understand chemistry as well as an engineer, instruction as well as a curriculum designer. Yet I am invited to counsel and help to clarify paths around and through...
Friday, September 11, 2020 | Reflections
John is the gospel of the divine Jesus, who foretells his own death and who is the Word incarnate. In the story of the raising of Lazarus, Jesus decides not to go directly when he hears his friend is ill. He is infinitely confident in his divinity and seems to know...
Thursday, September 10, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: October 10, 1952The psalmist appears to be celebrating the two things that have most impressed their mind and spirit: the glory of God manifested in the heavens and the righteousness of God as revealed in the Law. The firs….(View this reading...
Wednesday, September 9, 2020 | Reflections
There is always more to be done: I sometimes wish I could extend the day infinitely, just to catch up so that tomorrow might arrive with a blank slate. The blue light of our screens and the caffeine in our coffees incrementally extend day into night, often at the cost...
Tuesday, September 8, 2020 | Reflections
Paul and Barnabas have just healed a man, lame from birth, in the name of Jesus. The people are amazed and attribute the act to the men before them, not the God they serve. We only see what we know how to look for.By putting Edison’s face on the light...
Monday, September 7, 2020 | Reflections
In large-group discussions, I often experience a great deal of anxiety before I contribute. A thought will hit me, and I quickly bat it away. I try to listen even harder to what others are saying, but the incessant buzzing of that thought grows in intensity until I...
Sunday, September 6, 2020 | Reflections
Many of my relationships are challenged by the scarcity of time. We want to give our best and most fully present selves to each other, but we fall short of our own hopes, intentions, and expectations. Paul encourages us to pay our debts so that we owe no...
Saturday, September 5, 2020 | Reflections
God calls us into many kinds of relationships: with God’s heart, with God’s creation, with the people around us, and with ourselves. These relationships can give life and joy—and they can take it away. The thief can sound like the shepherd, especially in a world where...
Friday, September 4, 2020 | Reflections
I have become unsurprised by bad news: another political mess, another milestone of ecological unraveling, another conflict on the global stage. It is often the good news that can be hard for me to accept and digest, especially when it comes from somewhere...
Thursday, September 3, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: August 23, 1952There were thousands of martyrs in the early days, people who were not ashamed to confess the Lord Jesus with their mouths. They confessed, even though it meant they were to be stoned, beheaded, crucified, t….(View this reading...
Wednesday, September 2, 2020 | Reflections
In my work, I sometimes feel very important. The leaders of the organizations I counsel make space in their calendars for our meetings. They review the materials I send in advance of our meetings and express gratitude as we tie up loose ends.These meetings...
Tuesday, September 1, 2020 | Reflections
How often have I sought to speak for God? Nearly always this inclination comes from a place of compassion, offering the hope I find in scripture as salve to a hurting heart or as a candle guiding another away from a road I perceive to lead to pain and heartache. I...
Monday, August 31, 2020 | Reflections
I have been reading Forward Day by Day since I was in high school, as has my mother. Reflections from these pages have shown up for me in big ways on crucial days. I often marvel at the synchronicity this publication supports in my life and in so many others. The...
Sunday, August 30, 2020 | Reflections
How do we overcome evil with good? First, we have to understand that simple understandings of good and evil don’t hold up well in the real world. We catch “good guys” in “bad” acts and “bad guys” in “good” ones. Once we understand this complexity, the label of “evil”...
