Prepare the Way, Part 1 Malachi 2:17–3:5 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” (Malachi 3:1) The opening of Mark’s gospel quotes two Old Testament prophecies about John the Baptist. The first is from Malachi, the final book in the Old Testament. But Malachi isn’t speaking his own words. He […]
The Depth of Love is Revealed by How Much We are Willing to Give Up It is easy to say we love others. It is harder to show it, to prove our words through action. Despite what I may profess, I fear I may be more selfish than I care to admit. I may not […]
Today’s passage: 1 John 1:8–10 Focus verse: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) As a young teen, I had a Sunday school teacher who claimed he sometimes would go an entire day without sinning. Granted, he didn’t claim […]
The Service Members Want Isn’t What the Unchurched Needs Over the years I’ve wanted to invite friends to church. Too often I don’t. This isn’t due to a lack of courage on my part but a fear that the church service would drive them from Jesus instead of drawing them closer. For those times I […]
What Does Giving Thanks Mean to You? Today, in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving! But wherever you live, take time to give thanks for all we have. In the US, however, Thanksgiving Day has morphed into a day of eating too much, watching football on television, and starting Christmas shopping in earnest. […]
Prepare Your Heart for the Savior This Christmas Most Christians and their churches celebrate Christmas to commemorate Jesus coming to earth as a baby. And many build up to Christmas by observing Advent—the time that precedes our Savior’s birth. This book, The Advent of Jesus, is designed to guide us in this important season as […]
Righteousness is Another Word for Integrity Someone once surprised me, catching me off guard by calling me a “man of integrity.” Though honored by their perception, I shook my head. Yes, I aspire to be a person of integrity, but I’m not there. I have a long way to go and will never fully arrive. […]
Today’s passage: 1 John 1:5–7 Focus verse: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5) As John continues in his letter, he moves from fellowship and joy, to talking about the light. God is light. That is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit give us light. In their light there is […]
Everyone Can Hear from God People sometimes ask me how I hear from God, and I share with them about when I learned to do this. Yet there were some basic steps I already had in place before I started down this path. I don’t do these perfectly, but I do lean into them and […]
An Easy No As Sunday approaches, I want to return to last week’s church. Instead, I refer to our list. The second closest church to our house is another from traditional denominational church, a short 1.4 miles away. I attended a church in this denomination for the first decade of my life. Later, early in […]