Blinded by our tears

SOMETIMES WE THINK that devotion and doubt are opposite ends of the faith spectrum, but they’re a lot closer than that. Sometimes just a few days…

The three-letter offense

WE LIVE IN a time when you can use pretty much any four-letter word with impunity, whether in public or on social media. But use a…

Throwing off our cloaks

THERE ARE TWO kinds of comfort zones that we can get trapped in that may keep us from experiencing all that God has for us (and…

Thankful for the Stephens (and the johns)

SO, MY BIG question about the Asbury Revival is not so much theological as biological: who’s getting the portapotties? The Jesus-follower in me wants to experience…

Be careful, little eyes

TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED the news business in many ways. One of the most notable is how cell phones have made amateur journalists out of all of…

Days and moments

WHEN PARENTS DEDICATE their kids at our church, during the ceremony they are given a jar with 900 small stones–one to be removed each weekend before…

7 Signs of a Good Samaritan

WE ALL KNOW that the Good Samaritan is the model of godly neighborliness. But have you ever stopped to reflect on what exactly he did that…

Roadside reflections

SOME BIBLE STORIES are so familiar that we can miss the riches of what they have to tell—and teach—us. When we hear them, a well-worn Sunday…

The best of my year

ACCORDING TO A recent survey, the average American has $175 of unredeemed gift cards tucked away somewhere—a sum likely to increase at Christmas. But don’t worry,…

Herod’s holiday greeting

IF I WERE the handcrafting type, like my wife, I’d make you a personal Christmas card with a picture of King Herod on the front. A…