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

Are you discouraged? has been such a tough year for most people. Our eighteen-year-old son, like many others across the country, did his final semester of high school on line because of COVID—19 with no prom and no in-person graduation.  Our 22 year old son came home from college in California to do the final semester of his senior year at home.  There are so many faces...  Read More

We have finished with Thanksgiving and are headed towards Christmas.  Most likely you had a family gathering of some sort, either in person or maybe via zoom.  How did it go?  Was it stressful?  Were some of the current divisions in American culture present at your family gathering?   Outspoken Biden and Trump supporters, Pro-mask and anti-mask people debated as you ate turkey...  Read More

According to the World Economic Forum Americans will spend over 1 Trillion dollars on Christmas gifts for family and friends this year!  With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror we enter into the season of generosity.  There is clearly a pattern here—gratitude then generosity.  Author David Faust points out this pattern in the very word Thanksgiving.         As Christians our lives ...  Read More

Next week is Thanksgiving, that gentle yearly reminder to practice gratitude.  All of us have moments that we feel grateful.  But how do we consistently weave thankfulness into our lives?LOOK BACK      Looking back at my past, I see God's hand of blessing clearly.  I have received so much more than I have ever given.  There were forks in the road that could have been...  Read More

2 Chronicles 7:14if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.     The above is a popular Bible passage, written originally to ancient Israel, but Christians grab it as their own too.  It contains a powerful tool for national...  Read More

Dean and Jana Dickinson. You don't know them because they live thousands of miles away.  They are my parents, married for 54 years. They served at a church in Indianapolis, IN for over four decades.  They survived and even thrived in the midst of character crashes by other leaders, church struggles, dad's leukemia and much more.  There are many words I could use to describe them, but fai...  Read More