“Are you kidding me?” We don’t know Mary’s exact words when she learned she’d have to transport her highly pregnant body some 70 miles or more from Nazareth to Bethlehem, but it’s safe to assume neither she nor Joseph cherished the thought. After “volunteering” to bring the Jewish Messiah into the world, the soon-to-be parents […]
Last year, my wife Debi and I took a cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary. It was an awesome experience—probably the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever taken. One of the blessings in disguise was having minimal access to the internet. As the end of our trip neared, I realized that all of the negativity on […]
Memories; they can be a powerful force in our lives. Some of our more painful experiences we would prefer to forget. Others we choose to hold dear. But regardless of how it feels, every so often it’s necessary to take some time out of our busy lives to reflect. When processed in a healthy way, […]
Chances are at one point or another you’ve seen one or more of the odd-looking stone statues—known as moai—from Easter Island far off the coast of Chili in the South Pacific. Legend has it that these figures with large heads were a means to honor, deify, and draw upon dead ancestors. The name “Easter Island” […]
The King of Glory came to earth apart from the religious establishment, born in a stable filled with manure and overrun by flies. Angels announced His birth to a group of lowly shepherds who likely smelled as bad as the animals they herded. For thirty years, the Son of God dwelt in obscurity in the […]
There was a news report the other day of police officers in Kansas City pulling people over to give them money from a secret Santa. The emotions rendered by the story were the exact opposite of those being expressed all over the U.S. in protests against police brutality. Those who had their attentions “arrested” went […]
Grace is so integral to the Christian faith that people can sometimes fail to realize that the general concept is not unique to Christianity. In ancient secular Greek writings, the word charis essentially meant “that which delights.”[1] In this sense, grace could mean “a gift given” or “a favor done,” as well as “a sense […]
Entering a prison can be a foreboding experience. High fences. Barbed wire. Imposing walls. I was somewhat relieved when we checked in with the guard and went across the street to the low security prison camp where the inmates were predominantly non-violent offenders. After sharing a short message (yes, it is possible for a preacher […]
Sshh. I’d prefer that you not tell anyone if at all possible. Somewhere along the line I came to realize that I am a flawed person. But it’s not really something that I want others know. Our world demands perfection and people can be really cruel toward those who are anything less. Such a realization […]
Age and experience have a way of changing a person’s outlook on life. In my younger years, I thought that this world had so much to offer. Now, as my hair continues to gray, more and more I am coming to realize how much of it is so very shallow. In principle, I’ve known this […]
