It was definitely a dilemma. Twenty or thirty cars pouring out of a church parking lot and being stopped on a side street where the only exit was blocked by trucks and bulldozers. Other than retreating into the parking lot—and that opportunity quickly closed—we had nowhere to go. And no one working at the site…
Being like Jesus is a tall order, requiring a special commitment, but it is the ultimate fulfillment of the gospel. It begins with an encounter with Jesus. We must know Him before we can become like Him. It requires more than an examination of what Jesus did. We need an introduction to the one who…
Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” ~ 1 Kings 17:17-19 (NIV) After…
I’ll admit it: I’ve fallen asleep at church. When you’ve heard a story told so many times, it can lose its punch. Recently, my church has been going through the book of Mark. I thought for sure I would doze off at least once or twice, but instead I’ve found myself gaining new insights. That’s…
The Earth is the Lord’s, And the fullness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the floods. Psalm 24:1&2 A Psalm of David. The sirens’ call of the ocean began when I was a toddler seeing the Pacific for the first time.…
Reinforcements wade ashore at Saipan, June 1944 Today marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of a momentous occasion. When the Emperor of Japan announced his nation’s surrender on August 15, 1945, the deadliest war in history finally drew to a close. And yet, given the challenges we face in the here and now, I am concerned this…
How to deal with the perpetual uncertainty of 2020? We know how it’s been dealing with us—economic upheaval and a deadly virus like the devil in 1 Peter 5:8, who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” This is all compounded by the daily indignities of quarantine, masking, and social distancing, lest…
[Melanie Campbell] Wildfires and Clouded Vision
A few weeks ago, my town was blanketed with thick smoke and covered with ash. Wildfires were dangerously close and people in nearby areas had to be evacuated from their homes. There were reports of arsonists setting other fires. It was chaos, doom and gloom. In other words, another page in the nail-biting saga of…
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