Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
“Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” — Luke 2:14 It’s pretty clear that if we want peace in the world, we need to enter into the lives of others as God did. There were no savior-from-on-high theatrics. No confrontation between sword-wielding angels and the Roman legions. Indeed, …
Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character. — 2 Timothy 3:16 My home church in Poplar Bluff was putting on a Christmas pageant. I was asked to narrate it. As a teenager deeply involved in church, and planning on entering the ministry, I was …
Every so often you run across a quote that stops and makes you think, like this one from Rev. Molly Phinney Baskette: “Our faith, frail as it is sometimes, is also flexible. It is self-correcting as we have profound encounters with people who are different from us and are exposed to new experiences and ideas.” …
I hope this finds each of you in the midst of a sacred and joyful Christmas season, blessed by the love of Jesus and of the special people in your life. I ran across this Christmas prayer and wanted to share it with you. I don’t know who wrote it, but I found it very …
Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. – Luke 2:8 The message hidden in the Christmas story is this: In God’s kingdom, ordinary people are the real heroes. Shepherds see and hear a heavenly choir. Not the rabbis. A teenage girl gets visited by an angel. Not the princess in …
Perfect love drives out fear. – 1 John 4:18 When I was five or six, Dad and I went on an overnight train ride to Chicago. We slept in a sleeping car called a “Pullman.” Our compartment had bunk beds you could pull down from the wall. I wanted the top berth, and Dad slept …
The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people…This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:10, 12 My father, in his latter years, was slowed by dementia. Luckily he still retained his …
The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. –Luke 1:30-31 If I were God, I would have arranged things differently. First, no angel during Mary and Joseph’s engagement. That way they could have had the traditional, multi-day, …