When I was a kid, I thought KAOS was simply the name of an international organization of evil with the goal of world domination, make believe from the old TV show Get Smart. I didn’t know as a young child it was a play on the word chaos. Not all children are able to be as blissfully unaware of chaos as I was but all of us in our teen years, if not for sure by adulthood, know the stress and chaos of everyday life. The seasons, long and short, of the complete lack of peace....
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!" (Luke 2:14 CSB)...
Connecting new life in Christ to clothing has its limits, but what we find in scripture about the resurrection and what this brings to our lives, is immeasurable. Easter reminds us to celebrate all that God makes new....
Every birth is a miracle, and every child is a “Gift from God.” But centuries ago, the miracle of miracles occurred. A baby was born....
Why weren’t there others equally curious enough to follow this strange star? ...
Isaiah 9:6 announces Jesus as the Prince of Peace. And Isaiah proclaims that he is born to us, that this son is being given to us. Jesus – and by extension, his peace – is for us, in every sense. ...
The angel said to Mary, “…behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:31-33). ...
Sheep wander the lowland darkness, nibbling at the hardwoods that grow among the bogs and the burnt hollows. An impossible ridge separates them from green meadows, azure pools, and the golden throne of God, and the flock knows it not. Wolves also wander there. And we, the sheep, follow in their wolvery....
At this time of year spring is showing itself everywhere. Even the word Lent itself means spring, and the Lenten season has been described as a 40-day springtime for the soul....
King David had enemies who wanted to kill him. He poured out his heart in this song, the first of seven penitential psalms, and though I am not a warrior with adversaries in pursuit, I know what it is like to be grievously misunderstood. At night, while trying in vain to sleep, the unfairness of it all brings copious tears, prompts twisting of the sheets and grappling with...
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David starts out this psalm on a high note. He doesn’t muddle around with eyes downcast as he considers his failures and those of his people. Per the Living Translation, “O what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven; whose sin is put out of sight!” (vv.1-2) Wow, talk about skipping straight to dessert......
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In Psalm 130, the writer pours out his anguish for his sins against almighty God, along with his urgent request for mercy. “If you, O Lord should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand,” the psalmist says in despair....
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"He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer" (Ps 102:17)...
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This Christmas looks different, an empty seat where my grandfather sat. Another Christmas feels “off,” again in the shadow of the pandemic......
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I know little of hope, except perhaps the shadowy thing that normally takes its name......
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“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NET)....
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We near Easter as the disciples neared the resurrection. Indeed, we near our own resurrection as they neared his. Christ has gone, and yet we walk. But like those pinks and oranges, like the stars that break the black, the Spirit now breathes Christ into all the empty spaces....
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