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  • Who Is This Man?

    Jesus in the Storm — Matthew 8:23–27 There are storms in life that arrive without warning. One moment the sea is calm.The next moment the wind is howling and the waves are crashing over the side of the boat. Matthew tells us that this is exactly what happened to the disciples. They had gotten into…

  • Dangerous Disciples in Dangerous Times

    Danger and safety are not necessarily at odds with each other. We pass through dangers safely when God is with us. What must be protected is protected. In the same way, the church is both a shelter and a force. It is a refuge in the world for those under attack. At the same time,…

  • When the Church Roof Leaks

    “Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.”— Psalm 68:9 Rain is a blessing—especially if you are sheltered under a good roof. Sometimes rain can be overwhelming, even destructive. Storms often become metaphors for life’s troubles and challenges. The church is meant to be a…

  • Call the Plumber

    “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” – Jeremiah 2:13 I can think of two reasons for a modern householder to call a plumber. One reason is the event of an obstruction that blocks…

  • Best of Today: Welcome Tables, Barriers, and the Signals We Send

    Some days a theme emerges across several pieces of writing and reflection. Today the theme has been welcome. More specifically, the subtle signals communities, organizations, churches, and businesses send that tell people whether they belong—or whether they should keep their distance. The idea began with a reflection on a passage from Matthew 8, where Jesus…

  • Help in Hard Times

    “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.” – Psalm 107:6 It gets pretty rough for folks sometimes. There is an old spiritual that expresses the twin emotions of helplessness and hope for the one who is trusting the Lord. “Sometimes I feel discouraged and think…

  • Back to Bethel

    “And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.”— Genesis 35:15 There are moments in life that become spiritual landmarks. Places where something changed.Where clarity appeared.Where we sensed that God was speaking into our lives. The Bible tells us that Jacob had such a place. He called it Bethel. The…

  • I Will Now Arise

     “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them.” – Psalm 12:5 God saw the oppression of the weak and heard the groaning of the needy, bound in the chains of sin and wickedness. Thus, he came to us as…

  • Legacy of Faith

    Guercino Abramo ripudia Agar “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” – John 3:8 “For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” -Romans 4:13,…

  • By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them

    False Prophets and Christian Leadership Discernment Matthew 7:15–29 There are many voices asking for allegiance. Some are theological.Some are political.Some are cultural. Jesus anticipated this. In Matthew 7:15–29, He gives explicit criteria for identifying false prophets and discerning true spiritual leadership. He begins with a warning: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in…