Not What I Want

Picture from “The Passion of the Christ,” a film by Mel Gibson. “Not what I want but what You want” (Matt. 26:39). I have been meditating on these words of Jesus.  He said them to His Father just before being brutally executed. I see in these words the entirety of walking with God in this…

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Behind the Spotlight

The other day I was thinking about Jesus turning water to wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2).  This was Jesus’s first miracle and, as John tells us, “displayed His glory” (John 2:11).  When we hear of miracles and glory, our minds tend to think about the “wow” factor.  Turning water to wine is…

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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…

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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…

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Once and for All—Lauren Daigle

A couple weeks ago, the song, “Once and for All” by Lauren Daigle shuffled onto my i-Tunes playlist.  I have been unable to get it out of my head since.  It is a vulnerable song about resigning to the Lord.  Songs like this are always meaningful but I find it particularly relevant at this season…

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#MeToo

Recently, I read about a sex scandal that detonated in a major evangelical church.  We are just beginning to feel the shockwaves.  Those closest to the blast were knocked flat.  But many who operated under this church’s umbrella or looked to it for inspiration will also be shaken. I have stopped counting sex scandals involving…

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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…

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Fallen, We Divide

Recently, Facebook shut down pages disseminating disinformation.  The disinformation was about issues that Americans divide over.  The point of disinformation?  More division.  It is believed that Russian hackers are to blame.  It’s the old divide and conquer approach.  A divided America is a weaker America.  This makes sense.  Jesus said something about a divided house…

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Staying Buried

In Genesis 34, Leah’s daughter, Dinah, is raped by Hivite Prince Shechem.  Infatuated, Shechem bargains with Jacob and his sons to make Dinah Shechem’s wife.  Jacob’s sons tell Shechem he can’t have Dinah unless he and their men are circumcised.  The Hivites agree. They will benefit by mingling with the Hebrews: flocks and possessions will…

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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…

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