Month: May 2012

The Mount of Transfiguration story has always puzzled me (Lk.9:28+). What was that all about anyway? Mostly I’ve heard preachers say it was Moses and Elijah coming to encourage Jesus as He faced his death. But that somehow fails to do justice to such a miraculous moment....

When the psalmist asks God to search him (Ps.139) it is interesting to note that he is not afraid of what God might find or ashamed to be exposed to God’s review. He is ecstatic: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me!” Why?...

More and more I am drawn to this one idea: that trusting God is absolutely foundational to life. When Jesus says, “Believe in me” He is talking about trusting Him. Trust Him to know how life is supposed to work. Trust that He knows what He is talking about...

“If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Lk.9:23+)  These are hard verses. I don’t like to...

Jesus said, “The lamp of the body is the eye. When your eye is good, your whole body is full of light.” Apparently, what you see matters....

This morning I opened my email to find a message from two dear friends in Australia, letting me know they would see me in June. I found myself unable to hold back tears of relief and joy, as their faces came to mind and I remembered how they hold...

I need to be honest here — I’ve never liked this parable. It makes me feel bad. I feel ashamed because don’t like going out of my way and messing up my day to deal with someone else’s crisis. Especially when I don’t even know them. It might even...

It would be one thing if Jesus had asked us to do things we could actually do, like feed the dog or take out the garbage. But He asks us to love our enemy, return good for evil, forgive 70 times 7, never lust or harbor contempt — and...

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is th fountain of life; in your light...

“Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants” (Lk.8:7). Jesus describes life among these thorns as a life being overtaken by the cares and pleasures of life — of which there are plenty all around us here in the West. Now rest assured,...