A crucial moment in the story of the feeding of 5,000 comes with the question, “So how is everyone going to grab dinner?” The disciples may have looked down with disappointment or dismay at the boy’s meager offering. Perhaps they were even baffled by it. After all, the tike was...

  You know the power of prayer. You are called TO pray. You know prayer to work and you just cannot stop doing it. However, the person you’re praying for may not ask you outright to stop praying for them, but it is more than clear that your prayers—and your...

  The Fourth of July may be the best time to reflect on God’s provision to us as a nation. To begin, consider these words from the Bible molded into the Liberty Bell. “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25:10, KJV). It is sometimes...

  A friend emailed me the question about two weeks ago. Do people hear the same message differently? I told her I’d think about it before answering. Her question is a good one, so I thought I’d share it with all of you. To begin, my friend is direct. By...

    “Oh, I’m not having a funeral,” she said matter-of-factly. “People can stop by the house and—whatever—but there will be no formal service.” I hear this now and again and, no pun, this kills me. Your funeral or memorial service surprisingly isn’t about you. It’s about God and how...

  My dad would not call himself a theologian. However, he owned and shared a theological and philosophical revelation he would repeat from time to time. A renowned beer drinker among his devoted, bonded and endearing friends, he expressed to me long before the first whisper from God led me...

I hold unexpected joy. It’s my alma mater’s prom night as I write. What makes this so unique—and so joyful—is my Boston, MA, niece has spent her senior year living next door with my mom. This high school senior has regularly presented some creative statement looks dressing for school, but...

    From absolutely nothing came absolutely everything that we see, touch, and taste. From the depths of emptiness, God is still creating a vast, ever-expanding universe. Putting it mildly, that is some imagination. If we, children of God, are built in the image of God, then the imagination gene...

  Topnotch movie productions hire body doubles for their blockbuster stars. This makes sense if the film is action packed, but paying someone for their hands on film or in photographs? Yep. This is still a “huh” for me. But it’s true. There are professional hand models out there. We...

  Denying Jesus isn’t as bad as doubting him. At least that is what has been packaged through the centuries when it comes to Peter, who denies Jesus and Thomas who doubts him. We know the story. Peter’s three denials increase in intensity. First, he gives a simple denial to...