According to Mark 3:20-21, Jesus’ family was desperate to find Jesus with the hopes of getting him to temper his efforts; it might appear that his popularity was beginning to take a toll on them. “He’s crazy,” was their conclusion. Verse 31 picks this theme back up, with Mary and her sons, and perhaps her daughters, having READ MORE
Mary
Bethlehem’s Solitary Savior: A Poem
From the empty streets, wailing, weeping heard. Rachel’s hot tears falling on trembling hands. In darkness she there sits, moaning, heaving; hurt. A solitary, empty cradle in black corner stands. “The King, the King,” they did laughingly scorn Herod’s treacherous, brutal band In dark rage they sought one not long born, A solitary boy with READ MORE
Meals at Home
Transformative time around a meal plays a prominent role throughout the Bible. Surely this was in mind when the Lord God told the people of Israel, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today READ MORE
A Christmas Prayer
One of the features of any Christmas celebration is the longing many of us have to carry the spirit of Christmas into the many long days and weeks and months that follow. How often is it that we think to ourselves that we want to experience the meaning of Christmas ten days out, or twenty, READ MORE
A Rustic Stable
When the rough and tumble shepherds gathered into the rustic stable Joseph hardly knew what to do. No doubt, fear gripped him as they assembled around the little boy in the manger. Mary—startled from her much needed sleep by the commotion—looked up with bewilderment. What do these men want? The answer came quickly. With an READ MORE
Hope to Overcome our Fears
Fear and failure and insecurity make for a three-headed monster that too often roars in our ears and hides in our shadows. These things can be extremely draining, sucking life from within our souls. And, in typical fashion, we will often cope with these by furiously scrambling to make our lives work, to take control READ MORE