Monday, February 3, 2020 | Reflections
What is the work of God today? Prayer is the training ground for our life of faith, and it calls us to be emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually involved in God’s work in the world. Prayers are not simply to be said or thought—they are to be lived out with the...
Sunday, February 2, 2020 | Reflections
Over and over, God in scripture says, See, I am sending my messenger. Over and over, we say, Here comes the messenger, let us kill the messenger. The messages are hard to hear. The consequences are hard to swallow.Malachi calls the children of Israel to ….(View...
Saturday, February 1, 2020 | Reflections
Abraham, Sarah, and Jesus call us to pay attention to the whens and wheres of our lives. When will we love God with our heart, mind, and soul? When will we believe the promises of God? Where are the places we need to bring the love of God? Where are we seeking and...
Friday, January 31, 2020 | Reflections
In our desire to come out on top, we often try to drag God onto one side or another of our worldly squabbles. Things are not that different in Jesus’ day. Jesus flees the attempt by the crowd to make him into a worldly king just as he resisted this same line of...
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Reflections
From The Archives: September 27, 1938 When there is a great thing to do, it is the great thing that counts. But though great things make up the rare crises in life, it is the long chain of little things that lead up and prepare the way for t….(View this reading...
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 | Reflections
If you want to experience the truth of this verse, visit a nursing home. I spend time in one weekly, bringing communion and prayers to the residents.Wealth and poverty. Beauty and plainness. Prestige and humility. It’s all stripped away in the final stage...
Tuesday, January 28, 2020 | Reflections
Jesus heals a man on the sabbath by the mystical pool of Beth-zatha. Beth-zatha means “house of mercy.” That name has to feel sadly ironic to the man ill for thirty-eight years, with no one willing to help him into the water.This episode unveils the great conflict...
Monday, January 27, 2020 | Reflections
Olive trees are central to life in biblical times. Agriculture, the economy, and social life revolve around this sturdy tree and its fruit. Kings and prophets are anointed with its oil.The prophet Jeremiah likens Israel, when it was obedient to God, to a...
Sunday, January 26, 2020 | Reflections
Depending on which list you read, Christianity includes more than 33,000 denominations. However you slice it, Christianity is a pretty divided body.If we focus on our differences, we easily lose sight of our shared life of faith. Even within the same denomination, we...
Saturday, January 25, 2020 | Reflections
A goad is a pointed stick used to prod cattle in a specific direction. The more the animal resists the goad, the harder the cowpuncher prods it. To kick against the goad can cause serious pain or injury for the prodded beast.Saul’s life before his conversion on the...
Friday, January 24, 2020 | Reflections
If we’re lucky, we find a church that is a good fit for our most natural style of worshiping God. I love my church. But however much I love my church, I must remember that the relatively short portion of my life spent within church walls is not the beginning or end of...
Thursday, January 23, 2020 | Reflections
From The Archives: December 26, 1954Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is a superb example of the far-reaching effects of a faithful witness to one’s belief and conviction. Stephen kept the faith at the cost of his life, and becaus….(View this reading...
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 | Reflections
Growing up the son of a policeman, I learned to love the law. That’s appropriate. But unfortunately, I came to look down on those who had fallen outside the law. Once outside, I reasoned, there’s no way back in. It wasn’t until later, through some ….(View this...
Tuesday, January 21, 2020 | Reflections
One day, I broke some rule or another. To avoid the act of discovery, I hid underneath our house. My parents weren’t strict disciplinarians, but I decided I wouldn’t be in trouble if they couldn’t find me. The longer I stayed down in the dark, the harder it became to...
Monday, January 20, 2020 | Reflections
I’ve suffered with depression since I was thirteen. This illness was later compounded by experiences in the military, divorce, and the loss of my career. If you are someone who also suffers from depression, you are not alone. You are fully and entirely loved—it’s okay...
