Lent, Discomfort and Grace

A stagecoach was a very uncomfortable way to travel. Six or more people were crowded inside a small box that swayed, bounced and rattled over a dusty road, and sometimes got attacked by Indians or bandits. This would not be our idea of a good time! Our Savior gladly gave up comforts to travel with us -- all the comforts of heaven (Phil. 2:3-11) and during his

Jesus Alone

Super Bowl 50 is now over, and in case you didn't know by now, the Denver Broncos are the national champions. Even as little as I know about football, it was inspiring to see such fine athletes in action, and I certainly enjoyed Denver's win! The Super Bowl has an inherent negative message, though: that only

I Have All I Need

The list of things I wish I had is very, very long. More time to golf. More money saved for retirement. A pickup for camping trips. Time to fish. Time to read the rest of my books. And on it goes! Besides being dissatisfied by my wants, I can get bothered by

Jesus and Bungee-Jumping

A friend of mine posted on Facebook this morning, "If you want to be anxious today, pretend you're in control" quoting Michael Reeves. Pretending, of course, we never were in control and we never will be -- but we'll be miserable if we try. This reminds me of one of the points underneath the scripture I read this morning, Luke 4:9-12.  In this small segment, the devil takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, and tempts him to throw himself off, knowing that God must and will rescue him. Jesus responds rightly, "The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’" So what's behind this?  Is Jesus outlawing bungee-jumping,

Making Rough Places Smooth

Just about everybody has heard about John the Baptizer, the one who showed up out of the wilderness to start baptizing people in the Jordan river. John announced the

More Epiphanies

The season of Epiphany stretches, officially, from January 6 to February 7 this year. It celebrates the "appearing" or "presentation" of Jesus to the public in different ways in his early life. One is at the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2), another to the Gentile wise men, or Magi (Matthew 2), still another at his baptism (covered in all four gospels in different ways) and the

Epiphany and Risk

Today, January 6, is the celebration of "Epiphany" on the Christian calendar, and it's celebrating something awesome: the first 'public appearance' of the baby Jesus, the Son of God now in human form. What's that about? And what