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For the Love of Mothers and Others
If upon meeting you for the first time I asked, “Who are you?” How would you answer? (Para español, lea abajo.) Perhaps you’d say: I am a teacher. I am a student. I am a wife. I am a business owner. I am a missionary. I am a homemaker. With the recent celebration of Mother’s Day, you might also identify with one or more of the following: I am an expectant mother, a new mother, an adoptive mother, a single mother, a stepmother, a divorced mother, an empty-nester mother, a widowed mother, a grandmother, a mentoring and disciple making, spiritual mother, I am a caregiver of my mother. Research A…
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The Greatest of The Big Three is Love
During February we emphasize love. Even though Hallmark has turned love into a marketing campaign Scripture agrees that it is worth celebrating. And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 Since the big three* are often grouped together, we can’t speak of love without its companions—faith and hope. The Apostle Paul describes how they intersect when he greets the church at Colossae: We heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard…
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Imagine There’s No Lennon
“Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky…” I find the above one of the saddest thoughts ever put to music. Unfortunately this song has become the Humanist theme song. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and shutdown, a bunch of celebrities decided to sing this song acapella and share it with the world… for some reason. Why? It is a melancholy, hopeless song… at least on the surface. And John Lennon is dead. Imagine there is no heaven, no place where people finally find rest from a life of toil and struggle, pain and sorrow. Imagine there is nothing…
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Eyes on Eternity
Perspective is everything. The lens we use to see will determine how we prioritize our activities, our necessities, and our indulgences. Recently a friend shared with me an illustration used by Francis Chan. He pointed to a rope on the stage where he was standing. It began on one side of the stage and extended across the stage and off the other side as though it went on forever. The beginning section of the rope was dyed red. It was just a tiny little section of a very long rope. He asked the audience to imagine that this was the extent of their life on earth. The rest of the…
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Work in Heaven?
As Labor Day approaches, most Americans anticipate a well-deserved day off work. For many of us, the daily grind has become just that––a complete grind––and we regularly count down the days to weekends, holidays, vacations, and even retirement (5,406 days for me). But what if work isn’t supposed to be a grind? And what if our work doesn’t end with our time on earth? Have you ever considered what the Bible reveals about work in heaven? We know that the Bible represents one continuous story from Genesis through Revelation, and God’s story starts in a Garden (Gen 1–2) and ends in a City (Rev 21–22). This Garden to the City…
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Money as a Spiritual Barometer
Jesus taught a lot about money, for He knew that the making and spending of it occupies much of our time and thought. The Savior did not tell us in what ways to make more and spend less money. Instead, He encouraged us to be compassionate and faithful stewards of the financial and material resources He has entrusted to our care. In the parable about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31), Jesus put His finger (so to speak) on a basic truth about money. It’s not really ours. Indeed, the Creator has placed it in our hands to use in a prudent and godly manner. This means that the…
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“What the….?”
Hell is not a topic Americans spend much time thinking about. The extent of our ponderings on such a place are often relegated to funny quips like this: Sidenote: Cold coffee IS a minor catastrophe. While the subject of hell doesn’t tickle our positive sensibilities, our ancestors in the faith seemed to think it was a worthy topic to keep before their parishioners. I recently visited the famous Duomo in Florence, Italy. After climbing the 400 plus (yep – you read that right) steps en route to the top of the Dome, I was greeted by a stunning fresco that inspired Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel. As I gazed…
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Advent, The Incarnation and Handel’s Messiah
A few short days from American Thanksgiving and we are full speed ahead into the Christmas season – into Advent, the “coming” or “arrival”. Celebrating the coming of Jesus Christ to earth is exactly what Christmas is about. Something dramatic happened, an event that changed the trajectory of human history. In the midst of fast lane pressure, press of crowds and shouts of bargains let’s pause, catch our breath and consider. A son was born. God took on human flesh relinquishing properties of deity. God became man and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory – the incarnation. Hardly a casual thing to say so easily – it was…
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In the Scope of Eternity. . .
There’s a piece of my calligraphy in our bathroom, where it’s been for many years in a place where my sons would see it (over the commode!), of one of life’s most important questions: “In the scope of eternity, what does this matter?” This simple question can create a lens or filter through which we can assign value and importance to our experiences. It helps us know if something is worth getting upset about or not. If it’s not going to matter two weeks from now, much less in eternity, let it go. Many of our stressors would be less stressful if we would just put them in perspective. Both…
