Experienced athletes prepare themselves for an event by various warm-ups including stretch exercises. Stretching helps avoid injuries to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It also prepares the body to go to the next level of performance. A series of interactions in Luke 7:17-35 seem to have a similar spiritual function—preparing for the kingdom of God. […]
In 1820 Thomas Jefferson produced his own harmony of the Gospels. Using a razor and glue he cut and pasted passages from the four Gospels, in chronological order. However, he excluded any mention of miracles and ended with the sealing of Jesus’ tomb. Jefferson did not believe in God’s supernatural involvement in this world. His […]
Do you know that we freeze-dry people? What I mean is that we only see them as they were when we first knew them; we struggle to accept that God changes people. Our image of them is stiff and brittle. When a new reality in someone’s life challenges our inflexible view, the image shatters and […]
25 MPH is the hardest speed to drive at: too slow for third gear, too fast for second. I feel as though I am in danger of being passed by skateboards and bicycles. Everything in me wants to speed up. During transitions in our lives, when God is moving us into a new phase, it […]
Matthew’s account of Jesus’ ministry immediately after the Sermon on the Mount reads like a firework display of miracles. The multitudes that had marveled at His authoritative teaching followed Him and saw the practical extent of that authority. Right there, at the foot of the mountain, a leper came to Him and bowed down before […]
Why would anyone turn their back on leisure and luxury? Right-minded people only do that when they are convinced that a better life awaits. To Moses’ friends, his departure from Pharaoh’s household must have looked like the craziest investment decision. Moses didn’t even have a hunch that it would pay off big time. He acted […]
Being bi-cultural is difficult. I refer to people who live successfully in different cultures at different times. Perhaps they are missionaries, expatriate business people, or part of a marriage that bridges two cultures. To a tiny degree I experience it when I return from the USA to the United Kingdom, where I grew up. After […]