It’s into this suspicious, seething, and anxious age that we’ve been born.

On purpose, God birthed you and me into this wounded and weary world in which we both now walk.Read more

In our beginning, God made the earth. He made the sky (where the birds live) and the dry land (where the people live). The land of the earth – our home – was created with every kind and color of dirt: black soil, red clay, white sand, brown loam. Each kind of terrestrial humus was hospitable for sustaining life. All the ground was beautiful and useful, patiently awaiting God’s seed of life. Then God made mankind from the dust ofRead more

Our Father, who breathed divine life into every man and woman on earth – who is there like you? Please help us. Please light our path and show us the way to go. We desperately need the mind of your Son to live in us today. Please guard our bodies and our passions. We need the love and power of your Spirit controlling all that we do, and think, and say. Our Father, who knows the hidden and innermost partsRead more

Everyone who lived in the Roman empire had seen crucified people along the roads. Everyone had seen the insects crawling, the carrion circling, the scavenger animals gnawing the feet of dead men still dying. Everyone knew the smell – the shameful smell – of naked men unable to control their most private bodily functions. And yet everyone, both Greek and Jew, agreed that the men strung up and spread out like skinned animals had earned their shame. For the Jews,Read more

“Literally, none of your emails are finding me well.” I saw this on Twitter recently and had to laugh because it’s so true. All is not well with us, or in us, and all is not well in the whole world. How long until all is well? Can we keep our heads above water for another day? Another month? What will become of us if another wave comes? Will we go under? Will our lives be shipwrecked; our futures dashed beforeRead more

I dragged myself to bed hoping for the brief relief of sleep. What followed was not rest, but the kind of night I imagine Jacob endured while wrestling with God until dawn. Maybe you’ve been there? Genesis 32 tells recounts the story of a vulnerable and worried Jacob preparing for a long night alone under the stars. He was really scared this time. What would the next day bring? Would the people in his care suffer? Was God with him? WhatRead more

“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” I wonder when Abraham Lincoln wrote these words in his journal? Was it during the soul-searching season of Lent? Because a response like his doesn’t spring naturally from the human heart. Such wisdom is usually been shaped by an intentional practice of honesty and humility. Compare Lincoln’s words to those in my internal conversation when I don’t especially like someone: “I don’t like that person. And here is everyRead more

A bruised reed He will not break.Read more

Remembering the meaning, so we don’t fall away.
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Evidently, she thought it would be super-encouraging to remind me that I should act like a donkey.
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