Warm Hearts and Open Arms

The night air in Caracas, Venezuela, was warm and thick. The jammed streets smelled of panaderies (local bakeries), street tacos, and gasoline fumes. My friend and I arrived at the apartment building where we’d been invited for dinner, and a gregarious man with a smile as wide as a sunrise opened the door and embraced us. 

We sat with his family at…

Growing in Jesus Together

A new believer in Jesus asked Barb, “Would you disciple me?” Barb was uncertain about how to proceed. Should they have a study together? And if so, what topic would be best? She prayerfully picked out a resource to look at together and is finding joy in helping her new friend grow in her understanding of Christ. 

New immigrants moved into…

Hope Deeper than Death

I’ve been hearing conversations lately by church leaders realizing the need for the church to regain a central focus on the cross and resurrection of Christ—the story of God’s cosmic defeat of the principalities and powers of death and evil—for truly sustaining hope. Sadly, some faith communities have lost this emphasis in exchange for a primarily individualistic emphasis of a…

Fellow Citizens

I didn’t attend her memorial service because of the coronavirus regulations that limited the number of visitors to thirty people. But as I watched online, I thought of those around the world who were also giving thanks for what a vibrant, loving, and funny person Pamela was—including her family members in Malawi, where she was buried. 

She was one of many…

The Spirit’s Leading

The teaching about the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is at the core of the Christian faith. Included in this teaching is the Spirit’s leading in our lives, for He guides us in our everyday living.

Romans 8 refers to the Spirit multiple times. Verse 14 says, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are…

Growing In Christ

Once we’ve trusted Christ as our Savior, how do we grow in our relationship with Him?

Jesus is called the “Good Shepherd” because He leads and watches over those who follow Him. He said: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). But how do we hear the Shepherd? Our sensitivity to His…

No Need to Argue

I spent a year trying to persuade Li Jun that God existed. I told her that our beautiful world must have a Designer and that moral law requires a Lawgiver. She was unmoved. Later, as I was reading Romans chapter one, I noted that it says everyone knows God’s “eternal power and divine nature,” and that those who say they…

From Bitterness to Forgiveness

I didn’t mean to grow up bitter. But my skin color made me a target. In school, one teacher even called me “Nobody.” The result? Bitterness. I knew Jesus, but I also knew hurt. Its sting fertilized my bitterness which, like a weed “springs up and causes trouble.” (Hebrews 12:15 ESV).

So, while I loved God and believed He loved me,…

Rest Is a Gift from God

Tossing and turning in bed, I fretted over my list of weekly tasks. Family, friends, and even people I barely knew depended on me. For the fourth night in a row, I watched the clock change to three a.m. before I fell asleep. The alarm I’d set for six a.m. shocked me into starting my day. I snapped at my…

A Right-Side-Up Kingdom

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents the foundational ideas that describe life in His kingdom. Because these landmark ideas are so counter-cultural to the way life is pursued in our world, scholars have referred to His teaching as the presentation of an upside-down King for an upside-down kingdom.

However, it’s our world that’s upside-down. It’s the value system and…

The Mystery of Suffering

Life is marked by events of suffering, both great and small. Some are the byproduct of a natural disaster impacting entire communities with loss, grief, and sorrow. Others are the fruit of human evil that has a profound effect on the world. Still others are intensely private, affecting an individual person or a single family. In all these cases, a…

Speaking to Encourage

Abraham Lincoln tops the polls as the most popular US president of all time. His troubled presidency came at the culmination of a lifelong struggle with depression, a nervous breakdown, and neighbors who were known to set suicide watches over him in his youth.

So how did he do it? The night he was assassinated, Lincoln’s pockets were stuffed with newspaper…

Selfless Service

Anita glanced at the bags of unopened food in the cafeteria, and then at the only other volunteer available to help me host a breakfast event for eighty people. Time was short. Sensing our need, she smiled as she offered her assistance.

As we mixed batter and flipped pancakes, I learned Anita was providing in-home care for her mother who had…

Living Free

A believer in Jesus experiences ongoing tension between living by the Spirit and giving in to selfish desires. There are only two ways to resolve this issue. The first is to die and be with God. The second is to give up the struggle and give in to the flesh. This is the option we must avoid!

Our battle against the…