I'm going to talk about blood. If you're squeamish, you might look for a post about kittens and puppies.After working in our yard, I often return to the house with my arms covered in bleeding scratches and punctures. The desert is alive with thorns, many of them cleverly barbed and remarkably ... Continue reading
This category contains short essays on a wide variety of topics centered on the questions: Is Christianity reasonable, and if so, What does living faithfully to Jesus' teachings look like in the 21st century?
Who influences us?
February 11, 2023 By Leave a Comment
One day soon after [healing a man] Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. —Luke 6:12-13 (NLT)Right from the start, Jesus attracted a lot of attention. He said provocative ... Continue reading
Is the Sabbath just about resting?
February 9, 2023 By Leave a Comment
On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to ... Continue reading
The Martian and lifegiving hope
February 8, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Imagine you're an astronaut, part of a team sent to explore Mars. Then imagine what you would do if by a weird and terrible set of circumstances, your team abandoned you and left you alone on the red planet.That's the premise of Andy Weir's engaging science fiction novel, The Martian, which has ... Continue reading
Days of future passed
February 7, 2023 By Leave a Comment
"Today I know that such memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do." Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding PlaceTime flies. Time waits for no ... Continue reading
The real problem with sin
February 6, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus.Seeing their ... Continue reading
Convicted and ashamed
February 2, 2023 By Leave a Comment
When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” Luke 5:8 (NLT)I once worked in an office full of the accumulated stuff of many former occupants. It was gathering dust, seemed neglected and useless, so one ... Continue reading
Keeping watch; staying vigilant
January 28, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people! He made a dry path through the Red Sea, and his people went across on foot. There we rejoiced in him. For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in ... Continue reading
