The Elephant in the Room

Sometimes we just have to do it … address the elephants that make it impossible to navigate a room without bumping into them. The one facing us today is sexual orientation, which includes everything from same sex marriage to gender re-identification. This past month in the U.S we’ve been encouraged to not only accept but [...]

How Hearts are Changed

I was old enough to know better when I made a risky decision. I was out with friends and started talking with a guy from another high school who was bowling next to us. By the end of the evening, we were getting along so well that, when he offered to drive me home, I [...]

Eyewitnesses to His Majesty

I can imagine how breathless and scared the women must have been as they made their way to the tomb that early Sunday morning. The night before, after Sabbath ended, they’d purchased spices for Jesus’ body, which was now in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. They’d watched His crucifixion from a distance and had followed those [...]

The Coming of God

As I walk around my neighborhood, I see few signs of Jesus. The blowup figures in people’s yards are mostly Santa Claus and Will Ferrell’s Elf, with an occasional reindeer thrown in. I see few manger scenes, which were common when I was growing up. I know it’s still early, but I don’t expect much [...]

Long Haulers

My son Sky has always liked machines and big challenges. One vivid memory I have is of him driving our tractor across the field as Tony and I threw bales onto the hay wagon. Sky was only six or seven years old, so his feet barely reached the pedals. But he was grinning from ear [...]

A “God’s-Eye” View Will Help

Do you remember riding a Ferris wheel for the first time? Perched on the bench seat—scared but excited—your stomach likely dropped as the machine whisked you up into the sky. Suspended in air, with little between you and the hard earth below, you might have giggled nervously or distracted yourself by teasing the kid sitting [...]

The Face of God

Psychological tests reveal babies less than an hour old will stare at faces far longer than any other object or pattern. They seem to “know” they need to recognize the faces of those who will care for them – those who can be trusted. By four months their brains are processing facial recognition at levels [...]

Who is Jesus?

“They were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'” (Mark 4:41) Every disciple of Jesus must grapple with this question – not just at the beginning of our relationship with Him, but at every stage following. Who is He? And how does that knowledge impact my [...]

What is Our Passion?

When Mel Gibson’s movie came out (The Passion of the Christ) some might have been confused by the title, because the word passion is used today mostly to describe sex or something else we especially enjoy. “He has a passion for sailing,” we hear, or “she’s passionate about her work with kids.” But for centuries [...]