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 […]
Streams of Living Water
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:38) I believe it was Shakespeare who made famous the phrase “too much of a good thing.” In ancient history, Greek explorers discovered a great lake in the Arabah wilderness. They named it Thalassa Thanatos, or […]
Greater Things?
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.“ (John 14:12, NIV) Let’s be honest – the Bible is often offensive. I’m offended when I’m told not to do certain things […]
Being the Church
Jesus was known to upset an applecart or two in his day. In his most famous sermon, he went through a whole list of cultural norms and modified them. One in particular was love. It is natural for us to love our friends and hate our enemies. But God wants us to extend our boundaries […]
Together
As we come to the last section of Paul’s letter to the Colossians (4:7-18), he includes some final greetings from his friends and co-workers to the church in Colossae. Each one of them has a story to tell, though none of them ever becomes famous like Paul. There are a few names we recognize, like […]
Jesus and the Social Mandate
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that […]
It’s a Small World After All?
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about ⌊this hope⌋ in the […]
I Believe in Miracles
Once our hero, Paul, and the other castaways washed up on the shore of Malta, we read what happened next: As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself to his hand. When the local people saw the creature hanging […]
The Gospel According to Euripides?
Agrippa said to Paul, “It is permitted for you to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense… When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to […]
Pirates and Prayer
Acts 22:29 (NIV) 29 Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. It is one thing to read about Paul’s imprisonment and study 1 Peter’s discussion of persecution…something else to see it at work in the […]
God Cares – Final Installment
From Christine: Jim and I are back on American soil but our hearts are very much still in Uganda…as are our children. If we had to do it over again in a perfect scenario, we would not have come home early. It was a challenge for us to tear ourselves away from relationships just beginning […]
Uganda – God Cares!
(From Christine Mann) We had a wonderFULL day of ministry and work. We started work on building the 2 room primary school classroom at God Cares School and Orphanage. There are over 900 hundred children at the school and a Pastor with a heart that cannot turn anyone away. So, more space is needed for […]
