?One of the Pharisees, an expert in the law, tested Jesus with this question: ?Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?? Jesus replied, ?Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is first and greatest commandment. And the second is like […]
A Darker Shade of Hope, Part 2
Romans 5:2b-5, ?And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by […]
A Darker Shade of Hope, Part 1
Reflecting on Romans chapter 5, I see how Paul connects joy and hope, suffering and glory in a way that encourages (literally puts courage in me) and strengthens me. I pray that his words might be a source of encouragement to you in your journey these days as well. Romans 5:2b-5, ?And we rejoice in […]
Maundy Thursday: Love Like Jesus
This is the day during Easter week when we remember the words Jesus spoke to his disciples at the last supper. Maundy Thursday comes from the latin Dias Mandatum, “The day of the new commandment.” That commandment, of course, being, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I […]
Anxiety: The Illusion of Control
In my own morning communion with Jesus, one of the practices I find most meaningful is reading and praying the Psalms, often in the form of pouring out my heart in a journal entry: Ps 37:3-5 NRSV, ?Trust in the Lord, and do good;??so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. ?Take delight […]
You Give Them Something
I?ve been thinking a lot about the scene in Mark?s Gospel where Jesus feeds the five thousand. It is commonplace to hear people say, ?The Lord never changes,? but the more I read the Gospels the more inclined I am to say, ?Disciples never change.? In Mark 6:30-44, the disciples have just returned from being […]
Life Giving Leadership
A while back, I read these lines in the book of Numbers: ?The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites?. The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron?s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had […]
