God looks like Jesus. And that changes everything.
There’s a story Jesus tells about a man who goes on an extended journey and leaves a sum of money for each of three servants to tend in his absence. Two of the servants double the investment. The third sticks the money in a hole—the ancient...
There’s a story told in 1 Kings 17 about a prophet named Elijah who delivers bad news to a person in power and is forced to hide out in the wilderness. When famine hits and the local food and water sources dry up, God tells Elijah to go to a town...
Recently praying about a decision I needed to make, I kept having a strange experience. During prayer I would reach a point of seeming clarity about the best action to take. But an hour or two later, the clarity would vanish. This happened again and...
I’ve been slowly making my way through Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren. If you haven’t read it, the book is about how the small things we do everyday form us and how we can better show up to the presence of God at work within them...
The book of Acts offers this provocative description of early Christian life: “All the believers were united and shared everything. They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. Every...
I used to dream of doing great things as a follower of Jesus—maybe even changing the world. It’s honestly pretty embarrassing, looking back on it, to realize how little I grasped the world’s complexity or the depth of my own weakness. I remember...
Few teachings of Jesus are more mysterious and difficult than his words about forgiveness: “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you won’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins”...
Like virtually everyone I know, I’ve been watching the news these last few weeks with shock and grief. There seems to be no limit to the horrors human beings will inflict on each other. The world is full of impossible pain. Of course, to be aware of...
A religious expert comes up to Jesus and asks what he must do to gain eternal life. “What do you think?” Jesus asks. The man replies, “I think you must love God with all you are and love your neighbor as yourself.” “You nailed it,” says Jesus. The...
Can I confess something? I’ve been feeling angry a lot lately. And I’m not the only one. As a pastor, I spend a lot of time my listening to people in all walks of life, religious and not. If I were asked to sum up in a phrase how we, collectively...
God looks like Jesus. And that changes everything.