The Demand of the Disciple
With huge crowds gathering around, Jesus does the politically and culturally unthinkable. Read carefully from Luke 14:26: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Talk…
An Invitation to Fast
I'm revisiting what is below for a couple of reasons. One, we have invited the New Hope Church family to consider incorporating fasting into their regular rhythms, whatever that looks like from person to person. We have done so because we believe so strongly in the necessity of calling upon…
Senators Prefer Pain and Death for Babies
BabyCenter.com offers these simple observations about a baby in the womb 20 weeks into the pregnancy: Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel – about the length of a large…
Who’s At Your Side?
Somewhere along the pathway of an adventurous life, King David stopped and penned a handful of resolutions that every believer would be wise to follow. Known for centuries as Psalm 101, these several commitments force the soul to focus on things like worship, justice, how to get along with a…
Tranformation vs. Transaction
Luke 8 provides a vivid contrast between a transactional life and a transformational life. Consider these moments on a city street, as described in Luke 8:42-48 in The Message: Jesus went with him, making his way through the pushing, jostling crowd. In the crowd that day there was a woman…
Forty-One Moments When God is With Us
Christmas. "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)" (Matthew 1:22-23). God with us. When our sin is great and we need to…