We live in a culture where many struggle with commitment.  Marriage rates are down; cohabitation rates are up.  It reminds me of a little girl who liked one of our sons when he was in first grade.  She told him that she was going to marry him.  When he told her no, he was going to marry someone else, she paused and said, “Well, WHEN you get a divorce, then you’ll marry me.”  We see this tend...  Read More

     As Mother’s Day approaches, I paused and thought about what I learned from my mother. Honestly, to answer that question completely would require a book or two, but here are some of my most important lessons.       FOLLOW JESUS.  Mom is a Christian and believes that the purpose of parenthood is to point her children to Jesus Christ.  Obviously, the Christian faith must be embraced by each indi...  Read More

     Almost every person experiences loneliness at one time or another.  Loneliness is the “state of sadness that comes from feeling alone, isolated, or cut off from others” (Loneliness, June Hunt, 11).  The faces of loneliness are varied, from the widow reaching out in the night for a partner that is no longer there to a kid on the playground rejected by his peers.   We even occasionally hear sto...  Read More

       Are you tired of bad news?    Ready for some good news?  So how do we keep going in dark times?  What do we hold on to?  It appears to me there is a growing crisis of hopelessness.  We are going through a time when shallow optimism is not enough.  We need a robust, substantial hope.  In the midst of so much darkness, Jesus offers us that mighty hope, spe...  Read More

      Today we celebrate Easter.  While the cultural celebration often includes hidden eggs, family gatherings, going to church (even for many non-Christians), at the heart of it all is the claim that Jesus Christ predicted his own death, died, and then walked out of his own grave.  That is quite a claim.  A declaration that eventually was believed by billions of people.  But is it true?  This is ...  Read More

RESOLVING PERSONAL CONFLICT     I hate conflict.  I suspect you do too.  While it is inevitable that conflict occasionally enters our lives most of us do not feel like we handle it well.  Yet Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).  We just welcomed our first grandchild into the world.  Our son thinks she has his eyes.   Children tend to loo...  Read More

FINDING JOY     These are stressful, challenging times.  Our culture seems to be marinating in anxiety and fear.  We stress about COVID; we are afraid of whatever the “other political party” is up to.   Many people are sad, and their joy in life seems to be missing.  How do we find delight in our everyday lives? How can we find joy?     First, accept God’s sovereignty.  God is in charge.  God is i...  Read More

       I will never forget one Mother’s Day Sunday, many years ago, when I was a teenager.  We drove to our church early, as usual, but the day was different.  My dad took time with us in the car to explain that our Senior Pastor, a man I had always looked up to, had cheated on his wife with several women he counseled, and had been fired.  This shocking news would be announced to the congregation ...  Read More

      Imagine being a first century Jew, living under the heavy, oppressive boot of the Roman conquerors  and clinging to the incredible Messianic prophecies.  The Hebrew Scriptures include prophecies of someone coming to help humanity and of someone coming to establish an eternal Davidic kingdom.  Most Jews were looking for a political, military Messiah and not the Suffering Servant predicted in ...  Read More

DELIGHTFUL DEPENDENCE      When I say the word dependence to most American’s they have a negative reaction.  However, I want you to consider this more deeply.  A brand new baby is delightfully dependent.  It is when men pridefully grasp for independence from God, that life begins to unravel.  All the way back in the Garden of Eden, men and women made their proud declaration of independence from Go...  Read More

Today is January 1st, a time for new beginnings.  What do new beginnings look like?  How do we begin again?  There is an ancient and somewhat obscure story in the Hebrew Scriptures that help us know how to do this (1 Kings 19:19-21).  Elijah the great prophet, who once called fire down from the sky to demonstrate to Israel the existence of the real God, was ending his prophetic career and picking ...  Read More

The prophet Isaiah had several names/titles for Jesus.  One of my favorites is Prince of Peace.    No single title is enough to describe who Jesus is and what he does for us.  Jesus offers us internal peace.  The Hebrew Testament concept of peace implies wholeness.  Who doesn't want that?  Author Warren Wiersbe gives my favorite definition of peace, "the possession of adequate resources' (The Name...  Read More