The apostle Peter followed Jesus around Israel for three years. He walked with him, learned from him, and witnessed mind-blowing miracles by which Jesus declared himself to be the rescuing King God had promised. Each miracle—opening the eyes of the blind, making a paralyzed man walk, feeding thousands of people by multiplying a few loaves of bread—were glimpses of the kind of kingdom Jesus would establish for his followers. A kingdom of wholeness, abundance, and holiness. And that was exactly … [Read more...]
Letter From a Wise Man
What became of the wise men who worshipped Jesus? After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they returned to their country by another route, and disappeared from the record of Scripture. As I studied and pondered their culture, their preparation for the journey, and the certainty about Messiah that drove them more than 600 miles, one question shone like a star: "Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2) I wondered if that question lingered in the … [Read more...]
What happens in Heaven when God restrains angels?
Have you ever been reading your Bible and stopped to think, "Woah. I wonder what that was like." As part of our fall Bible study, I'd been reading about the Temptation of Christ in the desert. I had that ho-hum feeling I sometimes get that makes me say, "Oh, yeah. I know this one. Three temptations, three scriptural refutations. Check!" You can roll your eyes at me if you want. I'm rolling my eyes at myself. Thankfully, my study questions slowed me down, and as I was reading, the scene … [Read more...]
Bad Endings, Fake News, & Good Stories
One of the worst story endings I’ve ever read was served up to me last year in a long-awaited novel. I had high hopes, but when I read the final pages, I thought, “Pfffft! That’s ridiculous. That would never happen.” One element of the ending was so unbelievable that I felt irritated. I’ve never written a novel, and I know storytelling requires a boatload of creativity and mental stamina, So the fact that I had the gall to criticize probably says more about me than this author. But in any … [Read more...]
Learn THRICE at VBS
The famous French essayist Joseph Joubert wrote, "To teach is to learn twice." I have found it to be the absolute truth. Not only does the teacher learn it once for herself and again when she teaches, she remembers the truths longer and perhaps more accurately after she’s served them up to her class. Last week, I had the stressful privilege of teaching Vacation Bible School at our church. I already knew the familiar Bible Stories—Jonah and the Whale, David and Goliath, and several … [Read more...]
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