“In everything, give thanks.”, the Apostle Paul tells us. How hard this is to do. The daily pressures of life and constant distractions easily lead us away from thanksgiving. Re-centering our lives in gratitude each day can change the way…
Christians can give thanks to God for many reasons! Foundational to all of them is God's saving grace in Jesus Christ. That grace is a gift to us. Not only does it offer us salvation, it also offers to us…
When we do what God asks of us, it can be filled with a sense of fear and doubt. When Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, his response filled with faith. In one of the most shocking and brutal…
Religious people, Christians included, spend quite a bit of time and resources deciding who is “in” and who is “out.” In these three stories from Matthew 9, we find a Jesus who welcomes and engages with some of the least…
Is being called a “Doubting Thomas” really fair? When Jesus first appears to the disciples, Thomas is not there. All he asks is to be included the same way his friends had been included. Doubt is an important and healthy…
Belief and faith are mysterious things. They grow and evolve in each of us as human beings. We can often mistake a “breakthrough” as a conclusion. The opposite is quite true. Breakthroughs of faith will lead us into new seasons…
The parables of Jesus have ignited interest and debate for years. Jesus' teaching often require a sense of effort on our part to hear them and keep hearing them. The Parable of the Seeds is not different. In this week's…
We all face moments in our lives where we feel a sense of self-doubt. The lack of confidence can keep us from becoming the very person God wants us to be in the fullness of his love. Moses carries with…
A popular idiom is, “God works in mysterious ways.” While there may be a mystery to God's purposes and will, sometimes God works in overt and public ways. In the case of Joseph, the soon-to-be-husband of Mary, we find a…
Mary is the first Christian. before miracles, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection she believes in the gospel of Jesus. How? When she first hears the message of Jesus, as incredible as it is, she simply states, “May it be with me…