"one of you will betray me." ~Matthew 26:21 During Holy Week, we experience a mix of emotions. We're excited about Easter, but we try to be mindful of Jesus's horrible crucifixion to come before. After all, there's no Easter without the cross. We're also sad about what Jesus must endure for our sins. We're angry at Judas for being the catalyst leading to Jesus's arrest. In George Orwell's seminal novel, 1984 , each day, everyone takes a break to express two minutes of hate fo

"If you remain in my word" ~John 8:31 As we draw close to the end of Lent, it's natural to feel the struggle. As with anything challenging, we're tempted to persevere, not to the end but right before the end when we think our strength has run out and we have done good enough. You could be feeling the desire to enjoy your favorite food or return to social media despite your commitment to wait until Easter, which is less than two weeks away. At the root of our "good enough" min

"I will never forget you." ~Isaiah 49:15 In Disney's classic 1967 animated film, The Jungle Book , the chief of the elephants, Colonel Hathti, turns to his wife Winifred while on patrol and tells her, "An elephant never forgets." They lead the elephant patrol, securing the jungle from any threat. Their exceptionally sharp memory enables them to remember all the goings on, thereby better protecting the other animals. Contrary to cartoon depictions of elephants with peanut-si

"This great nation is truly a wise and discerning people." ~Deuteronomy 4:6 Recently, I've been captivated by Chef Gordon Ramsey's hit reality TV show, Kitchen Nightmares . He goes into failing restaurants and (hopefully) turns them into successful businesses. At first, he meets staunch resistance from the chefs and owners (no one likes to hear they've messed up). Still, little by little, he breaks down their hard exterior, opens their eyes, and typically they change for the

"let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word." ~Jeremiah 18:18 When Jesus was in the desert for 40 days, he told Satan man lives "by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Since we are supposed to live on the word of God, shouldn't His words be our words? The adversaries of the prophet Jeremiah realized he was proclaiming what God had told him. Still, they chose to harden their hearts to it. Much like Jesus, hundreds of yea

"no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah," ~Luke 11:29 As we begin our journey of Lent, we are invited to reflect on our need for repentance and conversion. Jesus warns us that this generation is an evil generation that seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. What does this mean? Jonah was a prophet sent by God to preach repentance to the wicked city of Nineveh. But Jonah tried to run away from his mission and boarded a ship that wa

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" ~1 John 4:1 When I read this verse, I imagine these floating "ghost-like" shapes sitting at classroom desks, taking a quiz to prove "whether they are of God." Is that what John was thinking of by testing the spirits? Not at all, but it does make for a funny image when taken literally. On the flip side, testing the spirits can also so

"Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments," ~Joel 2:12-13 Ash Wednesday is a special point in the liturgical church year when we set aside time for fasting in preparation for the Easter celebration. People mostly choose to fast from certain foods, whereas some pick intangible objects like social media. Our example is Jesus undergoing the ultimate fast from everything by being alon

"and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation" ~2 Peter 3:15a Many people wonder..."When is Jesus coming back?" Some say we still have another thousand years, whereas others say the end is nigh. I think what most people wonder is, "Why wait?" There's so much going wrong with the world. Why won't Jesus just come back now and end all the suffering so we can live in paradise with Him forever? Peter gives us the answer in today's Scripture (2 Peter 3:1-18). "The L

"Be hospitable to one another without grumbling." ~1 Peter 4:9 One of the hardest things for me to overlook is people walking on my carpet with their shoes on. Call me a clean freak, but there's so much junk on the ground outside, and then to track it into the house grosses me out. Once I get home, I immediately take my shoes off and put on my slippers. My feet are warm and comfortable, all the while not dirtying up my carpet! Of course, when guests come over, I can't have ev

"Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky" ~Philippians 2:15b Do you ever wish people would notice you? Maybe you clean the house, volunteer, or feel like you have unrecognized talent. When your efforts go unnoticed, do you feel frustrated? Of course, you do. It's natural to feel that way. But Paul says, in Philippians, that we will shine like stars in the sky. How and why will this happen? Some people prefer to go "unseen." After all, Jesus says in Matthew 6:3, "

But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road .) So he got ready and went" ~Acts 8:26-27 When a woman is nearing the time for her baby to be born, she has a "go bag" ready to take to the hospital. It contains, well, I'm not going to pretend to know what it contains; I at least know it has the essentials she needs for a comfortable stay in the hospital until she can go home. She

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” ~ Revelation 21:5 It’s wild to think in Revelation 21, we get a sneak peek at the restoration of all things: new heaven, new earth, no more crying, dying, “for the former things have passed away” (4). None of this has happened for us yet, but God gave this revelation to John so he could share with Christ’s believers what is to come. We don’

We have come to the Fourth Sunday before Christmas—the final Sunday of Advent. God has sent his messengers to appear to multiple people across the country and that section of the world. Mary, Zachariah, the Wiseman, the Shepherds, and Joseph all had Angels visit them. Looking back across this advent season, we can see that each Sunday has built upon each other. The thread of love has been woven throughout. God knew that Mary having a loving, understanding husband and Jesus h

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12) The third candle of Advent is pink, the liturgical color for joy. I don’t always associate the fall and winter seasons with joy. While I do think of having a fun

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” -John 14:27 On the second Sunday of Advent, we light the second purple candle, also known as the Bethlehem Candle. It represents Peace. This candle builds upon the Prophecy Candle by signifying Christ is coming to bring the lasting peace so desperately sought by the people in the Old Testament after they endured the continual

“one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again." ~Isaiah 2:4 We are in the first week of Advent, an exciting time when we anticipate the birth of Christ. The first candle of the Advent wreath is the purple candle sometimes called the "Prophecy Candle" to represent Isaiah's prophecy of Christ along with all of the Old Testament promises fulfilled. This candle represents Hope. The hope of the Jewish people was fulfilled in the birth

“We’ve got another holiday to worry about. It seems Thanksgiving Day is upon us.” ~Charlie Brown Well, it seems Thanksgiving Day is upon us. It's tomorrow, in fact! Do you have everything ready? Is the food cooking? Is the house picture-perfect? Are you pulling a Charlie Brown and worrying? The night before Jesus started his journey to the cross he had a lot to be worried about. When he was at dinner with his disciples "he took bread, gave thanks and broke it" (Luke 22:19).

"For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" ~Hebrews 2:2-3 There's a funny, cautionary anecdote about discarding God's helping hand. I'm sure most of you have heard some variation of it. It goes like this: A man is sitting on his roof due to the rising flood waters that have struck his home. He's waiting patiently for God to sa

In this age, when fear of the unknown has overtaken our lives, the Enemy delights in our crumbling faith not only in God but in our leaders God has appointed (Romans 13). “At that time, the sons of Israel walked away from that place, every man to his tribe and his family. And they went out from there, every man to his inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel. A man did what was right according to his own vision.” –Judges 21:24-25 (NKJV) For me, one of the most m