The story of my conversion appeared in our local paper this past weekend. It was adapted from a previous post. Merry Christmas! *** At Christmastime we celebrate the incarnation, when God became human in the person of Jesus. I cannot think of the incarnation without remembering the day I met Jesus. My freshman year at…
Category: The Gospel
Riu Riu Chiu
Riu Riu Chiu is a 16th century Spanish Christmas carol I have enjoyed over the years. Its syncopated, dance-feel gets hands and feet tapping! Recently, I was reading the lyrics, and was struck afresh by their power. Protestant readers will have to overlook the Marian theology in the first two verses, but I think any…
Dreams and Suffering
Joseph dreamt his brothers were sheaves of wheat that bowed to his sheaf; he dreamt the sun, moon, and 11 stars all bowed to his star. His brothers hated him because of his dreams, and because he was his father’s most loved son. One day, their hatred brimmed over. They stripped Joseph of the…
Blame
Picture from the Whitman Mission Site Last weekend, my wife and I visited Walla Walla in Washington State. Walla Walla is a cool little town surrounded by rolling prairie, farmland, and hills. It is named for one of the Indian tribes that are native to the area. During our stay, we visited the Whitman Mission….
Kavan-augh!!
Charlie Brown by Charles Schulz Last week, Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed and sworn in as America’s newest Supreme Court Justice. If you followed this situation even remotely, you know it was grueling for all involved. Allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Kavanaugh. Politicians, pundits, and protesters hissed, slithered, and bared their fangs throughout the…
The Beauty of Jesus—George Elliot
A few years ago, a family member gave me a book called, The Beauty of Jesus (published in 1904). It is a compilation of sermons preached by Reverend George Elliott in the Central Methodist Episcopal Church, Detroit, Michigan. Since receiving the book, it has sat on a bookshelf. But I found that the title caught my…
Settling at Bethel
After the incident with Shechem, the Lord tells Jacob to go to Bethel and settle there. Jacob went to Bethel with all his family, servants, and livestock. Then, “Jacob built an altar there and called the place God of Bethel because it was there that God had revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing…
Trouble and Trumpets
Recently, I found myself rather sick of the world. Sick of hearing sirens. Sick of politics. Sick of fires and famine. Sick of systems that don’t really solve human problems. Sick of it all. And sick of whining about it 😉 The Lord brought John 16:33 to my heart like a balm. And it got…
This Is the Day…
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24). The verse above is famous. I can’t count (even on my fingers and toes) how many times I’ve heard it quoted. Most of us have heard the popular song as well (complete with echo: “This is the day, This…
The Back of Love’s Hand
Last night, my wife had dinner out with a friend. I looked forward to spending the evening with my kids, doing something fun. But one of my kids had a major behavioral malfunction. I had to discipline him. It was the very opposite of fun. Since then, I’ve been thinking about Hebrews 12:6, “the Lord…
The Voice of One 