There’s a difference between being child-like and childish, but because we don’t want to be childish we resist being child-like. We don’t want to be whiny and demanding and unreasonable, so we instead...  Read More

A couple of summers ago I was in a reader’s theater called Things We Couldn’t Say, about the experiences of a young Dutch woman in the resistance during World War II. In one letter to her fiancé she t...  Read More

A 16-century monk named Brother Lawrence, a lay brother in the Carmelite order in Paris, worked his entire career, at his own wish, as a scullery boy - the ones who clean up and wash dishes. His reaso...  Read More

One thing all Christians know is doubt. Most of the time it has its roots in misunderstanding: we just can’t see what God might be doing in a given situation. Sometimes we legitimately wonder about th...  Read More

Sometimes I reread my favorite books. In fact, there are books I may have read eight or ten times in my life. There’s something reassuring about the known; stories can increase in comfort just like ol...  Read More

I wonder if normal life isn’t one of the challenges we face as we try to live faithful lives.The writer of Ecclesiastes notes that the simple routines of our daily lives - eating, work, sleep, fellows...  Read More

Situational ethics is pretty much the norm these days - too often we decide how to act based on immediate factors rather than bedrock principles. Obeying traffic laws, telling the truth, working on Su...  Read More

Jesus has a special heart for the lost. I used to think that, because of the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son - I read all three again this morning in Luke 15. I used to...  Read More

The mystical religious concept of karma - the idea that right will always balance wrong, good will offset evil - has become popular. I don’t think most people who refer to karma realize it’s really a ...  Read More

Since America has such huge advantages - we’re highly educated, wealthy, possessed of wonderful technology - I sometimes wonder why churches in other parts of the world are growing so fast and ours ar...  Read More

Joy to the world! The Lord has come! Today truly is one of the most wonderful days of the year, equaled only by Easter Sunday. I wish all my family and friends the fullest blessings that life in our L...  Read More

Matthew 1:18-25 “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Hol...  Read More