Monday afternoon, about 5 o’clock, I took Max for a walk to the mailbox. The temperature was in the low 60s, the humidity was low, the breeze was light. I stared up into the sky and saw endless blue, streaked with wisps of white. I remember feeling intensely aware of my surroundings — the weight…
We are suspending worship services at the church building for the time being. It is a temporary measure to help halt the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, I spent all day Thursday and Friday preaching to a camera, trying to get two online sermons ready to drop on Sunday. They are not overly…
Another anecdote from the fast-food establishment that continues to miss opportunities for free advertising in this space: I saw a worker walk to the edge of the food preparation area, turn 180 degrees, fix her ponytail, wash her hands, and return to work. First of all, I pay attention to things. I notice unusual behavior. …
Parents tend to judge their parenting based on “big things.” By “big things,” I mean major events and accomplishments — getting the child baptized, getting them through college, getting them married well, keeping them off drugs, etc. But it has been my experience that “little things,” daily spiritual maintenance and life guidance, tend very strongly to lead to the “big things.”
I have taken it upon myself lately to reexamine my approach to brethren who are wandering, indifferent or erring. It’s all fine and good to say we should have “the spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1). But what does that actually look and sound like? How might I self-diagnose more effectively?
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on…
A mandrake is a flowering plant native to Bible lands. It bears fruit somewhat like a plum, extremely fragrant. The root of the female version (and yes, plants often are male and female) forks to resemble the lower half of the human body. Mandrakes have been associated with fertility for centuries. There is absolutely no…
