While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. (Lk. 2:6-7) When my schedule permits, I visit some inmates in …
Tag: prayer
The Real Hope of Bethlehem
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem… While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. (Luke 2:4,6) While visiting the Holy Land I was very excited to see Bethlehem—the place where Mary and Joseph traveled, where Mary gave …
What Jesus Knew
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. (Jn. 8:6) The woman caught in adultery stands in the midst of the crowd ashamed of her actions and afraid for her life. The Pharisees are feverishly using that woman to set up Jesus. Many of the townspeople are gathered around with great curiosity, some …
Turning Aside
Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.’ (Ex. 3:3) Today’s scripture is such a small moment that had such incredible outcomes. If Moses hadn’t turned aside and obeyed God’s calling out of the bush, the Hebrew people would have remained …
Our Time in Midian
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (Ex. 3:1) For the first 40 years of his life Moses had been trained to be a commander of armies. For his next 40 years Moses …
Answering God’s Call
During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ (Acts. 16:9) Paul dreamed about the “man of Macedonia pleading” with him while he was in Asia Minor. Although the distance between Asia Minor and Macedonia was only a few …
A Kingdom of God Moment
Jesus said, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.' (Mk. 1:15) At the end of each session at the jail I always ask the inmates what subject they would like to talk about for the coming week. On one occasion they decided to …
Jesus’ Love Makes All Things New
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8) One of my least favorite expressions is “same-old, same-old.” When I ask someone how they’re doing, and they say “same-old, same-old,” I’m tempted to do an “encouragement-intervention” on them. The expression sounds so dreary, sullen, and bored. One of the ways I sometimes …
Worshipping and Praising God
Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth. (Ps. 96:9) I recently led a workshop on Emotional Intelligence at the sheriff’s academy. Before starting to present the material, I asked the participants what it was like to be police officers these days. They were very forthcoming about all the strains, …
God’s Breath Gives Us Life
…then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. (Gen. 2:7) I was a competitive swimmer in high school. In order to stay in shape during the off-season, our coach encouraged us to become lifeguards. …