The Reason I Came Here Was…
Dear Brothers, Even though John the Baptizer intentionally pointed two of his disciples away from himself and to the Lamb of God, might it still have hurt just a bit as John and Andrew walked ...
Finding Blessing in Dungeons and Under Broom Trees
Dear Brothers, I’ve never visited the ruins of Herod’s stronghold Machaerus and peered into the depths of the dungeon that may have held John the Baptist. Yet in Sunday’s gospel (Matthew 11:2-11), that dungeon’s contours ...
A God of the Living
I’ve never voted a straight party Sadducee ticket. I’m not a rationalistic skeptic who denies the reality of the resurrection. But I understand the doubt that undergirds a key plank in their party platform. Sadducee-like ...
Are You Giving God a Black Eye?
Dear Brothers, Are you giving God a black eye? Sorry, you cannot answer “no.” One way or another, every child of God does it. The only question is: which way will you administer it? We ...
This Jesus Welcomes Sinners and Eats with…Me!
(This is the chapel devotion at the seminary for Monday, September 12, 2016.) Dear Brothers, Are we in danger of chasing from Jesus those he rejoices to reach? It’s a sobering question that next Sunday’s ...
Let the Fire Begin!
Dear Brothers I have a love/hate relationship with the Olympics. As a child I ate it up. I dreamt of being an Olympic swimmer or runner or biker - or whatever competition I had just ...
Jesus’ To-Do List…or Yours?
It doesn’t seem like a hard question to answer, does it? Is God’s to-do list more important than your to-do list? That’s what we call a no-brainer, right? Not so fast. In the midst of ...
“Rich, I Have Something to Tell You!”
So says the Savior in next Sunday’s gospel (Luke 7:36-50). Simon, of course, was sure he grasped what was shameful. A notorious sinner was perpetrating a home invasion on his property. There she was, a ...
Opposed…But Not Alone!
“They have had too much wine” (Acts 2:13). So has it always gone when the gracious testimony to the kingdom of God strikes the eyes, ears, and hearts of the world. As it was from ...
(In)Vulnerable Sheep
“These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). In the second lesson for this Good ...