In the frantic preparations for this holiday season and all the activities accompanying it, I hope you won’t lose sight of the big picture. When Jesus came, everything changed. Oh sure, to those who saw Him walking around it seemed nothing had changed. Rome was still oppressing them, preventing them from running their own country. [...]
My only sibling just left my house … and I am already lonely for his company. We don’t see each other very often, since we live in different parts of the country. But it’s not just the infrequency of our visits that make them special. In close families like ours (sometimes with close friends as [...]
Expectations are beliefs springing from our thoughts and experiences. When our expectations are met (even our negative ones) we feel empowered, like our lives make sense. But what if our expectations are denied over and over again … or our assumed outcomes never materialize ... what then? We tend to react with feelings of anger, [...]
People today are looking for the real deal. Even though we like to take our selfies and project a better-than-real-life image of ourselves in public, we still yearn for authenticity, something we know to be true and trustworthy. But in a world of photo-shopped images, assumed identities, and fake news, how do people ever become [...]
I’ve tried to ignore the elephant in the room, but I feel the Holy Spirit wants me to talk about something rather unpleasant: POLITICS. In the West, our political climate is filled with division, misunderstanding, and hostility as opposing parties battle for dominance. It’s hard to engage in any discussions about our government (even though [...]
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” When the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost, the disciples received power to be witnesses of Jesus (Acts 1:8). They went out declaring the good news that Jesus had risen from the dead. Soon everyone born of His Spirit – not just the apostles – was giving [...]
Building a relationship with anyone is hard work. That’s not because the person is necessarily difficult to know or enjoy. It’s just that we must be willing to spend the time to find out things about them – what they like and dislike, their background, their future dreams, as well as the fears and concerns [...]
"The Lord your God ... went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go." (Deuteronomy 1:33) Continuing our series on the Holy Spirit, I’d like to discuss another aspect of [...]
Anyone who follows college basketball looks forward to the annual conference we call March Madness. The best teams from universities across the country compete to see which team will become the nation’s champion. It’s a dizzying few weeks of high octane basketball. Part of the fun is seeing underdogs take out highly ranked teams and [...]
Most of us know the correct answers when it comes to the Holy Spirit. From Scripture we’ve learned something about Him and how He works. We know He’s God, the third person of the Trinity. We know He came to live inside us when we were born again and that His role in our lives [...]
Adventuring with God 