the little people
They had gathered on the lush, rolling slopes to hear Him. And He stood there on the hill, looking into the eyes of as many of them as He could.
prayer with others
Early in His earthly ministry, Jesus sat down on the side of a mountain and delivered one His most memorable and stirring sermons (Matthew 5:3–7:27). He covered a lot of ground that day, including the topic of prayer.
in defense of love
Throughout much of 2011, Greece experienced unrest as round after round of austerity measures were passed, reducing pension payments and slashing worker benefits. Listening to interviews on the BBC, I heard shopkeepers and laborers speak of the gloom they felt about their future. Some were angry. Some were resigned. Everyone felt hopeless. Protests escalated. The government convulsed. Greeks expressed anger…
let them come
I recently read of a restaurant owner who instituted a policy that wouldn’t have been well liked by Jesus. Instead of letting young children dine at his restaurant, he announced he was banning little ones under 6 years old from the upscale casual restaurant. He won’t allow the young customers because he feels they’re bad for business.
Like that restaurant…
upside down blessings
I traveled to Russia soon after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Tensions ran high, and I was still wary of the Soviet military and leadership. I flew alone from Kiev, Ukraine, into Moscow. Due to miscommunication, I failed to secure the necessary visa. I was detained in the Moscow airport and held overnight by Soviet guards. It was an…
Jesus peace
It was dark. The garden was dark. The mood was dark. Jesus had risen, but the Light hadn’t flooded in . . . not yet. John and Peter had seen an empty tomb, and in it they found only folded grave clothes. The one who actually claimed to have seen Jesus was Mary Magdalene. Most of the disciples must have…
so open it's shut
Solomon Stoddard had a problem. Like other pastors in 17th century New England, he wanted every citizen in town to belong to the church. But many of the Puritan children were not interested in following Jesus, so Stoddard relaxed the rules for church membership. Anyone who assented to the church’s teachings and avoided immorality could join the church, whether or…
the spirit, the kingdom
One of the many juggling acts parents perform is deciding when to give information to their children. If I know a trip or a family fun time is on the horizon, I want to tell our boys early enough so they can enjoy the anticipation. If I tell them too soon, however, their agony of waiting (and my agony caused…
doxology
After making all the petitions for God’s glory to be magnified (Matthew 6:9-10) and for God’s grace to meet our needs (Matthew 6:11-13), The Lord’s Prayer concludes with a praise item, a doxology: “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (Matthew 6:13 NKJV).
This doxology isn’t found in the oldest and most reliable Greek…
party
We have friends who don’t get very excited about holidays. Our family, however—well, we get downright giddy when a special day pops up on the calendar.
Obviously, we throw a shindig for all the usual suspects (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day), and we make a big deal out of anniversaries, and any day when one of our boys loses a tooth.…
no benchwarmers
I always felt a little sad for the guys on my high school basketball team who were put into a game during the waning seconds when the outcome was already decided. I was glad to see them finally get a chance to play, especially if we were winning, but it always seemed a bit nominal.
Unfortunately, nominal is how more than…
small things
Last year, a tech firm in South Africa demonstrated that a carrier pigeon could carry data faster than the nation’s premier Internet provider. Unlimited IT strapped a data card to the leg of a pigeon named Winston and sent him off on his 50-mile flight from their headquarters to the coastal town of Durban. At the same time, they began…
Your kingdom come
When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13), the Jews were under Roman rule. God had promised them a deliverer—the Messiah. A Jew praying, “May Your kingdom come soon” (v.10) would have had in mind the end of Roman rule, for the Messiah was to come and establish a new kingdom (Luke 19:11), and for David’s descendant to…
