We can only imagine how messy and confusing the ark must have been. There were people there—Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives. There were animals there—two of every kind. And there was food there—every kind of food eaten in that day.
More Beautiful for the Brokenness
February 22, 2023 by
Art and repair merged in 15th-century Japan when a shogun sent a prized tea bowl to be repaired. When it came back mended with ugly metal staples, the shogun was so displeased that craftspeople jumped at the chance to find a better way to repair it and other broken ceramics.
Invitations to Partake
November 16, 2022 by
Some 25 years ago I sat with a two-person video crew and a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missionary on the dirt floor of a simple, one-room house in a small village in the mountains of Albania.
Exploring the Dark
September 27, 2022 by
This passage is hard to read. In Jeremiah’s mind, God’s back has turned away from the people. Their dead bodies will fill the houses and become defenses at the city’s walls.
“My Soul Clings to the Dust”
August 2, 2022 by
Have you ever wondered what dust actually is? Magnify it 22 million times, and you’ll find a terrifying landscape: great ropes of hair, menacing dust mites, bits of dead insects, clothing fibers, pollen grains, and sloughed off skin cells.
All the Love We Can
July 26, 2022 by
As we near the end of July, some radio stations are getting their Christmas playlists ready to hit the airwaves. They seem to start playing these earlier every year.
Earthly Accomplishments
July 19, 2022 by
Chances are I have fewer years ahead of me than behind me. As I approach a significant birthday, I find myself reflecting on my life and asking myself whether or not I’ve lived it well.
A Holy Threshold
April 20, 2022 by
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? The only human with clean hands and a pure heart will, and he will never lift up his soul to what is false.
The Great
March 30, 2022 by
Great. That’s a word we’ve heard again and again in recent years. Conquerors and strongmen throughout time fancied themselves as great.
“Come and See”
March 9, 2022 by
After witnessing the weeping of Mary and her surrounding community, Jesus is greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved (v. 33). But he does not weep himself until the people entreat him to “come and see” where Lazarus’s body has been laid (v. 34).
Hunger Pains
February 15, 2022 by
After five days of camping, hiking, and high ropes courses in the scenic foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, the first thing I wanted to do was take a long, steamy shower. The second thing I wanted to do was eat.
Quiet Miracles
January 11, 2022 by
You haven’t truly seen the night sky until you see it from the middle of Peru’s remote jungles, hundreds of miles away from any electricity and several days’ drive from the nearest city. Imagine a sky of black felt, covered in the glitter blown from a child’s hands.
“Trust Me”
December 15, 2021 by
I lay on a gurney in a hospital emergency room. Two fire ant bites had caused me to break out in welts, with my ears ringing loudly and my airway getting tighter by the minute.
Favored One
November 24, 2021 by
There she sits on the dusty ground, more child than woman, wearing much-mended hand-me-downs. Calloused hands are cooking bread on heated stones.
“I Hate Your Festivals”
November 16, 2021 by
Take a moment to think of your favorite hymn or worship song. Now take another moment to think about your favorite annual worship service.
“What Is It?”
October 13, 2021 by
When evening comes, and quails fly into the hunger-stricken Israelite camp, it must have been something like Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”.
Don’t Give the Devil a Foothold
August 25, 2021 by
I love the phrase, Do not give the devil a foothold (v. 27, NIV). Most change in the world happens foothold by foothold. History is told in big stories, big events, heroic actions.
What Makes for Peace
March 30, 2021 by
They are having so much fun as Jesus enters Jerusalem. The mood is celebratory. Then all of a sudden, everything changes.
Two Sons
March 9, 2021 by
Like the father in Jesus’ story, I have two sons. But unlike the sons in his story, my children could not pay for much dissolute living with their inheritance.
Light and Scent
September 15, 2020 by
As my pastor mounted the steps to the pulpit to preach about Mary Magdalene anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume (Jn 12:1-8), he paused to light several sticks of incense.
Proof of Their Love
August 18, 2020 by
John W. Hammes was a tinkerer and inventor. This Wisconsin architect and contractor enjoyed using his basement workshop to bring to life his ideas for making household chores more convenient.
The Reality of the Living Christ
May 27, 2020 by
1 Corinthians 15:20-26 What difference does Christ’s resurrection make? Does it matter whether it really happened? Would people all over the world still believe Jesus’ teachings about life and faith if it didn’t? Would they still follow his example? Think about Jesus’ early followers in the aftermath of his death. They are disheartened to the […]
God’s Work in Darkness
April 14, 2020 by
In movies and media today, savvy viewers know to look for “Easter eggs.” Reminiscent of the egg hunts we experienced as children, movie directors and software creators offer these Easter eggs as inside jokes.
Misunderstanding Service
March 10, 2020 by
When I read these verses as a young person, I think I misunderstood them. I assumed that serving others rather than being served meant staying out of the limelight, letting others lead, always playing a supporting role.
The Hemorrhaging Woman
February 4, 2020 by
This woman in Mark’s story lived for years with a hemorrhagic illness. She had spent all her money on doctors who were unable to heal her condition—a condition which rendered her unclean and therefore a pariah.
All Is Joy
January 15, 2020 by
My youngest children are just old enough to have developed a growing curiosity about Lent. They are asking more questions about why and how we Christians observe this liturgical season.
Recognizing Presence
November 13, 2019 by
“What is the best part of your job?” Most of the time when I tell people I’m a chaplain in a children’s hospital, they respond with a tilted head.
A Risky Commitment
October 16, 2019 by
What are the conversations like in Naomi’s household as resources and hopes dwindle? What do they say as they consider leaving Moab? What’s discussed when the jungle looms before them?
Seasons for Everything
September 4, 2019 by
Before my grandfather’s funeral, I struggled for time to absorb his absence and grieve. We had logistics to handle, relatives to entertain, strangers to greet, and my grandmother to keep company.
What Do You Thirst For?
May 1, 2019 by
You see a water glass being filled on the Reflections cover. What do you think?
Why doesn’t my glass of water look that artistic?
Does anyone use coasters anymore?
God’s Grace in Change
March 20, 2019 by
We just finished cleaning out my grandmother’s house. Granny is 82 years old and has moved to my aunt’s house, ten hours away, because she can’t live by herself anymore.
“Jot and Tittle”
January 30, 2019 by
Since 2004 I’ve practiced yoga off and on with a video instructor. My first yogi blew my mind. “Let go of all sense of effort, and rest,” she said. That notion had never occurred to me. It was certainly not something I’d heard at school, church, or home.
In Silence
January 2, 2019 by
That Matthew includes five women on his list is remarkable. Jewish genealogies usually list men only, but Matthew mentions Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Mary by name. He doesn’t name the fifth woman, Bathsheba. He references her using her first husband’s name, the wife of Uriah (v. 6).
The Rhythm of a Faith-Filled Life
December 5, 2018 by
The faith-filled life has a rhythm to it. We ask, seek, proclaim what we learn, and then learn to ask anew. When I worked at an agency for youth in the state foster care system, this rhythm became our familiar soundtrack.
Honest Hallelujahs
November 21, 2018 by
I was too young. Youth and vitamins fortified my body; a promising future fortified my mind. But something else threatened all that, something that made me hold my breath for several months. On the day of my final checkup, after the surgery that removed what wasn’t supposed to be there, the office receptionist was infuriatingly chipper.
Learning from Others’ Lenses
October 23, 2018 by
My seventh grade Sunday school class was studying King David using student workbooks and homework assignments. During the week that we studied today’s passage, our leader explained that these verses were proof that David cared for Bathsheba more than he cared for his other wives.
Hardwired to Sin
July 4, 2018 by
As future adoptive parents, my wife and I just completed a two-day course about the ways that neurochemistry determines the behaviors of children and parents. We learned that neuropathways form in an infant’s brain on the basis of a caregiver’s abuse or neglect.
Verbal Blessings
May 29, 2018 by
This year I’ve often found myself thinking about blessings. Not material blessings or even the blessings of relationships. What I’ve been pondering is the practice of giving someone a verbal blessing. I suppose that offering another person a blessing is considered weird, or at best something that only ministers do.
“I Will, with God’s Help”
April 18, 2018 by
When Lauren Winner, now a professor at Duke Divinity School, converted to Christianity from Orthodox Judaism, she argued with the promises she had to make in the Anglican liturgy.
Knowing the End of the Story
March 27, 2018 by
The last week of Jesus’ earthly life begins with eager expectation and joyful celebration. Enthusiastic, palm-waving, hosannas-singing crowds welcome Jesus to Jerusalem. The news of his raising Lazarus from death precede his arrival and his fame has grown.
When People are like Duct Tape
March 22, 2018 by
Duct tape is amazing. You can do so many things with it. Make a dress, reattach a car bumper, do some duct work. Duct tape is decorative and functional, durable yet flexible. It can fix just about anything. Its only problem is that duct tape isn’t a permanent solution.
Praying with Your Pen
January 10, 2018 by
When I most need to pray, I grab a pen and a journal. Something about the physical act of writing to God opens my mind and heart in ways that surprise me. As the ink flows, so do the concerns I have carried that day, the questions I’ve pondered, and my longing to be centered again. In praying this way, I do what many writing teachers advise—keep the pen moving, never stopping it, until everything I need to say spills onto the page.
Playlists for July 14-20 Reflections
December 31, 2017 by
As the writer of the July 14-20 devotions in the Reflections Devotional Guide, I invite you to the banks of the Ocmulgee River in Macon, GA. These waters baptized the music of Little Richard, Otis Redding, and the Allman Brothers.
The Need to Be Grateful
November 22, 2017 by
Did you know that our brains have a negativity bias? According to recent neuroscience research, the human brain gathers strength around fearful, negative, or problematic situations. This tendency means that we must intentionally savor any loving, positive, or unproblematic event for at least 15 seconds to offset the negative.
Shaking Free from Indifference
November 14, 2017 by
Indifference is a tricky feeling. Sure, one can be indifferent about milk chocolate vs. dark chocolate (though clearly, dark chocolate is better). We can even be indifferent about slightly more important things like who to pick in a Yankees vs. Red Sox matchup (though clearly, the Yankees are preferable).
The Miracle of Creating
September 14, 2017 by
Though eager to put her vision into words, she found doubt and anxiety hovering over her. Soon she heard the cursor say, “Stop. This is too messy. Let someone more qualified, more talented, more educated do what you could never possibly do.”
God Only Makes What God Loves
July 4, 2017 by
Most of us struggle to believe that God fully loves us (and others) since we do not measure up to God’s law. We hear the constant refrain of “I am not good enough.” Or we wrestle with the “woulda’, coulda’, shoulda’s” of our lives. “God loves us, warts and all,” we say, but that theology falls short.
God Deems Them Righteous
June 20, 2017 by
“God does not hear the prayers of Jews,” a prominent pastor proclaimed in 1980. His words created division among Christians and Jews alike. Who had the audacity to determine whom God hears? Psalm 34 tells us exactly whom God hears…