While at the ECO National Gathering earlier this month, I heard a fantastic talk by Danielle Strickland based on Mary’s anointing of Jesus (John 12:1-10) that I keep thinking about. By way of reminder, Mary took some perfume, worth about a year’s wages, poured it on...
I’ve been thinking about love from a biblical point of view. Now, the Bible has a lot to say about love, and I’m particularly struck by the assertion of 1 John 4:16 that “God is love.” I’m struck by it because while it reads like a statement of fact, it is actually an...
The news cycle may have moved on from the phrase, but I’ve been thinking about and even praying for “breakthrough infections.” No, not for breakthrough infections of Covid, but rather for breakthrough infections of the Gospel. You see, I think far too many people have...
I’ve been thinking about “normal.” Between Omicron and snow days, among other factors, life hasn’t felt normal lately, and while I think a “new normal” is emerging, I don’t know what it is yet. So I’ve turned to the Bible, which tells us what normal is supposed to be....
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we define success in the Christian life in general and specifically in ministry. I confess that part of me shies away from defining success and I don’t think I’m alone in this regard. I think I avoid defining success partly because...
I recently spent 24 hours as part of a prayer retreat with eight other local pastors. We took time to pray for each other, the congregations we serve and the city of Harrisonburg. It was wonderful. We quote Oswald Chambers in introducing our prayer guide each week...
I received a new smart/fitness watch for Christmas which meant I had to register and name the device. So, in honor of Psalm 90:12 I named it “Number Our Days.” I commend all of Psalm 90 to you but verse 12 asks the Lord to “teach us to number our days that we might...
Fall, or “harvest season,” is my favorite time of year, so I’ve been thinking a lot about the harvest these days. Jesus thought about the harvest, too. In John 4:35, Jesus tells us the “fields are ripe for harvest.” Similarly, in Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus tells us “the...
I’ve been thinking about how we grow in Christ and I think the answer will involve a unique mixture of four gospel elements. First, we have to have “gospel content.” We need the scriptures and the true narrative about who God is and who we are. We need good teaching...
We have reasons for hope. It is easy to forget that when we look at what happened in Afghanistan and Haiti this last week. But when I look to Scripture and history, I can find reasons for hope. A text that renewed my hope this last week was Lamentations 3:21-26. This...