Be you!* (Part 1)
What do the movies Moana, Mulan, Brave, Beauty and the Beast, Coco, and Aladdin have in common? The moral of those stories is almost exactly the same—Be you. Moana, your father wants you to be an island manager, but you are an ocean explorer—be you! Miguel, your family wants you to make the best shoes […]
Why Paul loved grace (and we do too)
The apostle Paul was the poster child for grace. If the internet would have been invented two thousand years earlier, he immediately would have reserved the website grace.com. If Paul would have gotten married and been blessed with daughters, I bet he would have named them Grace, Gracie, and Baby Grae-Grae. Why do I think […]
Being a Christian is hard!
“Why is my life as a Christian so hard? It wasn’t this hard before.” That has been spoken or thought by many new Christians. Maybe you’ve thought it too. Before there was no pang of conscience when you did whatever made you happy. There were no strange looks, but now you see them on your […]
The cure
I am one of over 14 million people who suffer from some form of autoimmune disease. If you add those who suffer from the thousands of other diseases and disorders, there are few left untouched by chronic illness. However, there’s one fatal disease we all have in common—it’s called sin. Every person experiences variations of […]
The Lord’s Prayer 101
You may or may not know that Jesus’ favorite thing to talk about was the kingdom of God. My simple definition of God’s kingdom is “a place of authority and safety.” God gets the authority, and God provides the safety. You submit to Jesus. Jesus saved you. If you believe that, the kingdom is within […]
Jesus is God’s greatest gift
Sometimes you need about 40 years to really understand a Bible passage. That’s what happened with me and James 1:17. Ever since I was a kid, I knew the wonderful words from Jesus’ half brother James: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father” (James 1:17). First as a teenager, […]
God sees, knows, and cares
Have you fallen victim to the lie that trusting in God is for those who can’t make it on their own? Do you ever think God might get tired of hearing you pour out your grief to him or that he doesn’t pay attention or care? Take this exquisite image from Psalm 56 and hold […]
Grace = “no way!” love
There are many helpful ways to define the word grace. I grew up reciting, “Grace is undeserved love.” Others have suggested that grace is an acronym—GRACE—which stands for “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” If I could add to those helpful definitions, I would propose that grace is love that makes you say, “No way!” Jesus […]