Everyone who has left houses, brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. Matthew 19:29 In this passage, Jesus had just challenged the rich young ruler to sell everything and "come and follow me." The young man had lived a righteous life....
On my way to work recently, I noticed that several new tents had sprouted on the sidewalk overnight. This got me thinking about an inner reality I rarely consider. That spiritually speaking, I am a transient as well. The apostles Peter and Paul both referred to their bodies as earthly "tents." It's easy to relate to this metaphor. "For here...
With the arrival of spring, I entered my closet one morning anticipating luxurious freedom for my toes. I pulled out my favorite sandals, then gasped and stared in disbelief. Mildew! How could this be? Nothing like this had ever happened before. Other shoes were infected. A couple of leather coats showed the white film as well. So I did what...
Have you ever asked, "Why is life so hard?" Why a constant sense of pressure, or why the unrelenting stone-hard circumstances? Of course there are no easy answers to explain suffering, but something that has shafted light on the struggle, is the metaphor of the seed. We have a lot in common with seeds. The Struggle Once planted in the...
As I gazed at the hummingbird cradled in my hand, the traumatized bird stared apprehensively back at me. She seemed to be asking, "What are you going to do with me?" Just moments before, my mother had called me outside. It was night but in the porch light we saw the little bird flapping helplessly on the ground. I noticed...
When I visited Bethlehem, we toured the Church of the Nativity which stands on the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Originally commissioned by Constantine and his mother in 327, it is the oldest major church in the Holy Land. Beneath the main altar of the church is a cave with a silver star on the floor. The inscription around it reads, “Here...
As a teen refugee, my mother was evacuated to West Germany after the war. She had lost her home, her family, and her possessions. Here she tells about small blessings in the refugee camp: Arriving at camp, we all looked terrible, crusted over from traveling with no opportunities to wash. Mothers struggled to clean children and comb tangles out of...
Broken, what do you do with shattered shards of clay, How do you find your way among the ruins of your life, How do you survive, broken? Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing pottery to bring beauty to brokenness. Instead of disguising damage, these artists use gold, silver, or platinum lacquer to highlight the “scars,” transforming broken vases and...
One day I went for a walk in my neighborhood and came upon a young starling caught in blueberry netting, his feet so entangled they secured him to a twig. Because he couldn't move, I was able to hold him, quivering, as I carefully unraveled the binding strands. Once freed, I held him for a magical moment before lifting the...
(Re-posted from Comfort-Cafe.net, May 2018) The Lord is with you when you are with him . . . (II Chronicles 15:2) This short obscure phrase, spoken by a prophet to encourage Asa, King of Judah, says something deeply profound. It asks the question, “Who are you siding with?” So often we want the Lord to be with us when our...
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