Old Habits
Some years ago I was preaching for a small worship service at a nursing home. The attendees were residents with a background in the Christian faith, but many suffered from dementia and were largely unresponsive during …
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Eyes, Teeth, and Cheeks
We’re all familiar with the expression “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” It comes from the Old Testament, and refers to the idea that punishment or recompense should match an offense that has been committed. This …
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Opposite World
Thanks to a strange development in the English language, the words “flammable” and “inflammable” mean the same thing. Frequently, we use the prefix in– to mean “not,” but not in this case. The word “inflammable” is based …
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Back to School
It won’t be long before students of all ages will be returning back to school. It’s a good opportunity for us to dust off our thinking caps; we’re never too old to learn! Jesus did a lot of things during his ministry on …
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Holy Disruption
After being away for about 10 days, I recently came home to find several small tree limbs lying in the yard. There wasn’t any damage, but I could see the evidence of a storm while we were gone. The Bible describes God’s …
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Part of the Solution
Frequently when you’re at the Publix checkout, someone will ask if you’d like to donate a small amount to a particular cause. Some of us might be skeptical: If Publix wants to support a charity or cause, why don’t they …
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A Jealous God?
Sometimes the Bible describes God as being jealous. Typically, we view jealousy as a bad thing; we often think of jealous people–especially in relationships–as petty and insecure. There may be more appropriate English …
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Priorities
How would you rank the most important things in your life? If we’re aiming for the “right” answer, we might say that God is more important than anything. Then we might rank our family next, followed by friends and other …
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Expecting the Unexpected
I recently heard Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy, make an off-hand comment that has stuck with me. He mentioned that he majored in philosophy in college, a degree that has served him well. But–of course–he never …
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Families, Immigration, and the Kingdom of God
We’ve all been moved by the zero tolerance policy toward immigration, which has resulted in a recent dramatic rise in children being detained separately from their parents. The issues surrounding immigration are complex, …
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