A Necessary Part Of Ourselves
“Scripture does more than give us permission to express our
Love Is
What is love? To me, love is Jesus forgiving Peter for denying that he knew Him. Love is Jesus inviting Matthew, an unpopular tax collector, to follow Him, learn from Him, and to be His friend. Love is Jesus washing His friends’ feet.
continue readingWhere Is Your Treasure?
My husband and I flew to Vermont last week to see his mom and stepdad. It made me uneasy, as I am an unenthusiastic flyer. I sometimes wonder if at least part of the reason for this is that my grandfather died in a plane crash, and although it occurred before I was born, I witnessed the hole it left in the hearts of his (my) family.
continue readingFrom A Long Way Off
Something I have been thinking about a lot lately is how God in the Old Testament (OT) sometimes seems different from the God Jesus came to make known. I know that He is not different because God does not change…“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17, NIV). The Bible also reveals that Jesus is God…“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15, NIV), and that He is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, NIV).
continue readingEveryone Familiar
“It was not only the people of His day, but it is so common for people of all times to just keep commandments and church laws and observe the externals of religion. In living this way, we miss the point of what worship of God really is, falling each day more deeply in love with God, expressing that love by our sensitivity to the pain and hurt around us, and reaching out to help others, even strangers. To a person who has found God, no person, ever again, is a stranger. In that is the perfection of love, the kind of love that God is, a love that knows no strangers.”
– Joseph F. Girzone, “A Portrait of Jesus”
” . . . I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger, and you welcomed me . . . ”
(Matthew 25:35a, ESV)
An Experience I Ponder
There are many near-death accounts where people speak of having visited heaven. I don’t know that I have experienced exactly that, but many years ago something happened to me that made me wonder if I had been given a glimpse of heaven.
continue readingThe Gentleness Of God
Nearly every day I hear the sound of a dove cooing outside of our window, and each time I hear it, I am reminded of when the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus “like a dove” (Luke 3:21-22, NLT). In the book of Matthew, Jesus referred to doves as “harmless” (Matthew 10:16, NLT).
continue readingWhat is Still?
What is Still?
What is still?
It’s the ceasing of wind
It’s the cat at my feet
It’s a leaf’s gentle bend
It’s the silence at night
It’s a crescent of light
Where the moon sits just right
above an earth in flight
Feasting In Good Company
Jesus stressed the importance of humility. When He and His disciples feasted with Matthew and Matthew’s friends, the Pharisees and teachers of religious law questioned the disciples, asking why they would eat with “scum.” Jesus responded, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.
continue readingWhen Words Became Voice
I remember that soon after I became a Christian I was impressed by the fact that the Jesus I was coming to know was consistent with the Jesus I was reading about in the Bible.
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