If Jesus Did Not Rise . . .

The Gospel of John tells of Mary Magdalene who, upon discovering the empty tomb, is panicked by the idea the Lord has been “taken away” (John 20:13). First she deals with Jesus’ death, and now the possibility someone has stolen his body, perhaps as some cheap stunt. Whatever hope she had placed in Jesus seems READ MORE

Unless the Lord Builds the House

The fact that Psalm 127 was written by Solomon ought to give every struggling man or woman some semblance of hope. After all, Solomon, despite his wisdom, was a profoundly broken and messy man, whose family dynamics and private world were an utter wreck. For him, with all of that as his backdrop, to come READ MORE

“Walk By the Spirit!”

As the Apostle Paul brings closure to his thoughts regarding love being supreme over and above the fleshly extremes of license and law, he raises a tension regarding how to ensure this love will prevail. Galatians 5:16 and following resolve this tension with profound clarity, and the resolution is the antithesis of self-effort. “Walk by READ MORE

Moving Beyond Election Day

A number of folk from places far and wide are asking me about the election results. There are a handful of things that readily come to my mind that I would like to pass along. These are very important, I think, particularly as we disciples move forward from here. First, regardless of which “side” we READ MORE