How am I, how are we, to know that we’re living in God’s kingdom, but not in this world? Here are some ways to recognize where we are spending our time. First, do you have a spiritual practice that you do daily for more than 30 minutes? Does it include any quiet time, […]
1.9.23 A conversation over lunch with a friend one day reminded me that we never really get over ourselves totally even as we commit our lives to the Lord. As we offer ourselves and each sin we have committed, the challenges we have faced, and the hopes we have for ourselves and others up […]
1.2.23 Metaphors teach us so much The Bible is full of metaphors from Canaan as the Promised Land, that is, the kingdom of God on earth, to Jesus’s death on the cross and His resurrection as a promise of new life for us after every big or small “death” we go through in this […]
12.26.22 Interestingly, it was the shepherds, the humble, common folk, who first saw the baby Jesus. Later the Magi, wise men or kings, came from far away to bow before Him who was “born king of the Jews (Matthew 2:2).” Their search for the Messiah greatly disturbed King Herod who would have liked […]
The long-awaited birth of Jesus happens after Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem to register for the census decreed by Caesar Augustus. He was born in a manger because there was no room at the inn (Luke 2:4-7) Nearby, there were shepherds taking care of sheep, when an angel appeared to them, “and the glory […]
12.12.22 Mary stayed with Elizabeth and Zechariah for three months. We can only imagine what those three months were like for her–pregnant and maybe just beginning to show. Many questions to ponder as she imagined what Jesus would be like; what her life as a mother and wife would be and many more, I […]
12/5/22 After the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, announcing to her that she would bear a son, Jesus, Son of the Most High, Mary hurried off to visit her much older cousin, Elizabeth, who was now six months pregnant with John, who would precede Jesus in declaring the Good News and baptizing people. When […]
11.28.22 Advent The celebration of the birth of Jesus gets lost from the beginning in the Black Friday sales which are advertised in the weeks before Thanksgiving. Commercialism had taken over Advent over the last century, so that any church celebrations become just a footnote to this major gift-giving season. It’s sad because, for […]
11.21.22 Gratitude I believe that gratitude to God for the life He has given us, for His presence in our lives, for all the blessings, and even for all the challenges and pain is the very essence of our love for God. When I look back on my life, I was most burdened by […]
11.14.22 “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in the spirit and of one mind. Do nothing […]