James 1:12, James 5:11 I’ve been watching the Winter Olympics this past week. As much as I enjoy the competition, I really like to listen to the athletes’ stories. One thing most of them have in common is perseverance. Many of them train for years to perfect their sport and get that gold medal. They sacrifice time […]
Psalms 34: 17-20 A man is walking along the street and all of a sudden, he falls into a deep hole that he can’t get out of no matter how much he jumps and tries to climb. He starts yelling up to the passersby, “Hey can you get me out of this hole?” After a […]
Luke 14:1-14 God persistently calls us away from our attitudes and actions that separate us from being close to God. Jesus gave a lesson in God’s priorities as He went to enter the Pharisee’s home. A man with dropsy, an awful swelling in the body, was there; Jesus looked at him with compassion. Jesus could […]
Isaiah 55 I like the snow, but I realized with this latest storm, I not only like seeing the snow on the ground but also the act of snowing itself. I like watching it fall and when most of the snow falls overnight, I find myself a little disappointed that I didn’t actually see it […]
Psalms 139 Remember the TV show “Cheers”? One of my most favorite scenes, which was on almost every episode, was when the character Norm walked into the bar and everyone would yell, “Norm”. Even though many times he had something funny to say afterwards, that sense of his recognition always made me smile. There was that sense of […]
Matthew 4:1-11 This encounter in Matthew 4:1-11 is a story about the IDENTITY of Jesus because Jesus fully knew who He was, a humble God and remained OBEDIENT to that identity. Jesus was able to successfully refute Satan’s temptations, and thereby offer the world something truly SIGNIFICANT. The first temptation Jesus faced was the temptation […]
1 Corinthians 13:4-13 1 Corinthians 13 gives a long list of attributes of actual love: patient, kind, not jealous, not prideful, not arrogant, not selfish, not provoked, not vengeful, not about me! This kind of love shows value in putting aside your own feelings for the sake of another; I think that when we practice […]
Ephesians 4:1-13, Matthew 7:13-14 Did you ever just go for a drive and notice a road that you never took? I have many times and am usually pleasantly surprised either by the sights I see or by the new knowledge of where this road less traveled leads to. This happens in life all the time. […]
Philippians 2:1-11 We learn in today’s scripture that Paul charges those in authority – those with status to lose – to humble themselves and exhibit the good news of the gospel to those who are most vulnerable. Christ emptied himself of his divine status to stand in solidarity with those who have nothing. Christ’s act […]
I have a friend in my second grade class. She has black skin and wears a hijab on her head. She is nice and we joke around a lot. I know her extra good, because she rides my bus. She acts like a lot of other kids in my class, but I know something is […]