As we trek through the metaphorical wilderness of Lent, I am reminded that Jesus spent time in a real wilderness. Mark 1:12-15 reports that after Jesus was baptized, “…immediately the Spirit impelled Him (Jesus) to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by...

No one really knows the exact origins of Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent.  A ritual for the “Day of Ashes” is contained in an 8th-century church document, but we know the influences for this solemn observance stretch all the way back to Old Testament times. Here are three...

Not too long ago, I attended a men’s weekend retreat. One of the leaders mentioned that, years earlier, he had chosen a “life verse” from the Bible that he memorized and lived by. He urged us to choose a life verse, as well. I thought about that for a week....

My wife recently sent me an article on why millienials are not involved in church. It seems that every day, I read another thought on why the church isn’t relevant to a new generation and what we should do about it (I seem to recall reading similar articles in the 80s about how...

  Valentine’s Day is the one day of the year that we focus on romantic love, but God speaks of love 24/7. Here are four Bible verses on the nature and practice of love: “Love is patient, love is kind” (I Corinthians 13:4). Widely read at weddings, this famous verse (indeed the...

A while back, I was telling one of my fabulous stories when my daughter interrupted me. “Dad,” Abby sighed, “you’ve already told me this one.” “I have?” I asked. “Are you sure?” “Yes. You’ve been repeating yourself a lot lately.” I think this was my daughter’s way of telling me that I was...

I’ve seen this meme pop up after President Trump issued a January 27 executive order to ban people from seven Muslim-majority countries from coming into the United States. I’m not sure whether the creator of this meme is making a political or theological point – or perhaps both. Here’s what the...

A fitness instructor at my gym was at the grocery store the other day. Two people were ahead of her in line: a middle-aged man and a woman in her 70s. When the total was rung up for the woman, the man pulled out some cash and paid her bill....

  A few days ago, I strolled into my local grocery store to find a mother squatting down to talk to her tow-headed daughter. I’m guessing her little girl was around three years old, that cantankerous age when you begin to wonder why you had a kid in the first place. Tears...

The anger in the national air right now is as thick as London fog. People are digging into position as the political divide widens. Some have marched, others have looted, many take to social media to try to shut the “other side” up with their version of the facts. As tempting as it may...