Jesus had just finished private conversations with his disciples about the tumultuous times they must endure. Then, he takes a big breath, looks into their eyes, and says these heart-stopping words, “As you know . . . I will be crucified.” (Matthew 26:2) Matthew, Mark, and Luke each tell us three times that Jesus is headed toward cruel treatment and death. It seems the disciples could not or would not believe it could happen  “As you know,” Jesus said.  But they didn’t know.

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He knew what that meant. He went because it was part of the mission he submitted to at baptism and confirmed in the wilderness. He had made it to the border between Samaria and Galilee when ten men approached him.  He knew immediately they were lepers.  Everyone knew it. Their faces were covered, their cloaks torn, and they were making the obligatory announcement:  Unclean! Unclean! That’s what probably cleared their way to get to Jesus.  Th

What makes me think . . . That my love . . . My try harder, Up and down, Sometimes on, And sometimes not love Is enough to change the world? On some days it doesn’t even change the vibe in my own home. God tells me His love in me changes everything. I remember the story of the sorcerer who followed Philip (Acts 8:9-24) He was a trickster, hungry for miracles, So he tried to buy them. But God’s love can’t be bought Not with money, Mission work, Or m

Roots are the unseen growth markers for any living thing.  Without roots, a plant will die.  The problem is that we can’t see the roots.  They grow underground for most plants. However, they influence the above-ground growth we can see. The same is true in our Christian lives.  Spiritual roots grow love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,   gentleness and self-control  (Galatians 5:22-23) Not just one of these characteristics.  All of them. The prayer tha

Amazing Grace isn’t just a song we sing; it is a truth to live.  Grace is what God applied to the great gap between who we think we are and who God knows we can become. Grace is the purest form of love.  Grace is the One who always acts for our best, bringing a life we can’t know any other way. We talk about reaching out to God, but before the thought ever formed in our minds, God has already been reaching out to us.  It is not the distance from the earth to heaven that is o

Jesus went into the wilderness to focus on time with his Father.  But what he got was an intruder who planted doubt and confusion. How many times have we, brimming with good spiritual intentions, tried to focus on what God wanted to say, only to hear the questioning, undermining voice of our worst enemy? Like Jesus, I look for quiet places where I reduce attention chaos. My isolated place isn’t a desert; it’s just my sofa in my upstairs office. Yet what is supposed to be a sa

Today we wear the ashes of our impotence and mortality. It is a day to remember who we are and who we are not. Today we bring our unedited selves to God so that we start this journey to the cross in the most honest way possible. I remember the first time I participated in an Ash Wednesday service. The reflective music, scripture, and words prepared me to receive the mark of the cross in ashes on my forehead. I felt branded, labeled, and unmasked. It was like someone had rippe

A slow, thoughtful, prayerful, heart-cleaning journey to Easter . . . is a spring cleaning for my heart.

After the Passover supper with his disciples, Jesus was full of tension that the disciples didn’t perceive.  It was just another night,...

God, the only authentic innovator who creates what couldn’t happen without His breath and power, offers us what we cannot find anywhere...

Journeys require signs to keep us going in the right direction.  Our discipleship journeys are no different.  We need signs to keep us...

If confession is good for the soul, why is there so little of it? Is it because we can’t stand to see ourselves in a bad way?  Do we...

When you are tempted, what do you learn about yourself? When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, he settled the trajectory of his life...

Do you want a deeper relationship with Jesus? Do you want to grow in measurable ways because of what Jesus teaches you?

Betrayal is a subtle visitor . . . until it isn’t. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, only Jesus saw the darkness lurking. He had...

A cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said . . . Listen to him. Mark 9:7, NLT When Jesus invited Peter, James, and John to...

From the beginning of time, from the moment you existed in your mother's womb, on every day since you were born, God has loved you with...

If . . . there it is, the 2-letter word that can come between us and God just like the tempter did in the Garden of Eden and tried to do...

Daniel prayed fervently, openly, daily, and specifically. He didn’t pray in protest or for show. But when he prayed, the heavens opened...

You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind. Exodus 20:4, NLT We shun the practice of bowing before sculptured idols. We know...