When we are caught up in the beauty and perfection of something, we can’t help but praise it. From a friend or spouse, to a sunset or an artistic work, we...

When my oldest child entered fourth grade, he was tasked with learning to play the recorder. He would retreat to his room, squeaking out something that sounded like notes, while the...

A Reason to Trust People love superheroes and heroines—Wonder Woman, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Black Panther to name a few. Why are these characters so popular? We like them because of...

A Refuge to Trust When I was a church-camp counselor, one of our activities was to take our campers for a “trust walk” in the woods. We would divide the campers...

Come, Follow Me In this reading, Jesus calls four ordinary people out of their ordinary lives. “Come, follow me,” he says (NIV). There was no introduction, no description of what they...

Hope Beyond Today In today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, John has been arrested. His ministry has concluded, and Jesus has entered the stage of announcing that the time that John had...

Absorbed with God Paul was concerned with what holds our highest attention: earthly concerns, or God. Essentially, he asks, “Are you consumed with things of this world: your marriages, your emotions,...

When Leopards Change Their Spots There is an old saying, “A leopard never changes its spots.” In other words, people don’t change. That, however, does not appear to be God’s attitude....

Let's Try This Again Get up and go to Nineveh. Tell them to change their evil ways” (AP). Those were God’s instructions to Jonah. But instead of obeying God, Jonah tried...

In God’s world, what we think we know often gets turned on its head: The ones who cannot speak well are called to be prophets, the mighty and wealthy are cast...