Holy Week
It’s been a strange year, hasn’t it? February had 28 days and March had like 350 days. April may be even longer! With so many schedule changes, I often don’t know what day of the week it is. So, public service announcement: It is Wednesday. But not just any Wednesday…it’s Wednesday of Holy Week. Last […]
Week of Thanksgiving
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6) This is one of my favorite verses in one of my favorite passages of Scripture…and probably never more relevant than today! We are all learning a new vocabulary, aren’t we? COVID-19, Corona Virus, […]
Blessed are Those Who Mourn?
““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:3–4, CSB) We often read Jesus’ famous Beatitudes as virtues for which we should strive. But is it good to be spiritually impoverished? Is it good to mourn? Maybe we’re reading […]
“When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” (Matthew 5:1–3, CSB) In ancient times, mountains were often considered holy places, where heaven […]
Love is the Answer
“But you, dear friends…” (Jude 20, CSB) That’s how Jude begins the final section of his short letter. Sometimes the most important words are the smallest and seemingly inconsequential. Imagine a scenario in which I tell my wife, “Babe, you’re beautiful, but…” I’d never say this, of course! She’d miss the fact that I called […]
Walking with God
“It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones” (Jude 14, CSB) In describing the troublemakers in the church, Jude elicits the help of Enoch. If your Old Testament is a bit rusty, you may not remember that Enoch […]
Dangerous Reefs
“These people are dangerous reefs …” (Jude 12) Not too far from Australia and the Great Barrier Reef lie at least five ships at the bottom of the ocean. The reefs that caused these tragedies became known as the Wreck Reefs. They are so dangerous because they are so hard to spot. Jude was writing […]
The Heart of Sin
“Then Samuel said: Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry. Because you have […]
Safely Home
“See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”” (Isaiah 42:9, NIV84) I head into 2020 with great anticipation of the new things God is going to in our church. But the former things have taken place, and I have a heavy […]
The Gift of the Magi
“…and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their […]
Who is Jesus?
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”” (Matthew 16:13) Who is Jesus? This is a question that has been asked for two centuries. Who is he? He’s the most controversial person in history. And everyone seems to have an opinion […]
Robbing God?
“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings.” (Malachi 3:8) Last week I got a chuckle out of the idea of Job telling God how to run the universe. Imagine a frail and fallible human lecturing the omniscient, all-knowing God. No less […]
