Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice... (Eph. 4:31) Let me call her Eleanor. She was in her seventies. I visited her every month. We would read scripture, pray, share communion together, and then she would launch into bitterly complaining about her mother. During …
Tag: sin
Jesus’ Living Water
Come see a man who told me everything I have ever done! (Jn. 4:29) The woman had been married five times. She was currently living with a man without being married. Did her neighbors talk about her, judge her, and condemn her? Did she feel marked, shunned, and ostracized? One day she meets a …
The Message of the Cross
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18) His name was Linwood. He was the part-time janitor at the country church where I once served. As the church grew, Linwood had a hard …
Trusting in God’s Grace
Therefore, confess your sins to one another… (Jas. 5:16) I was in my twenties, on my knees, confessing my sins to a monk, and I heard him snoring. When I loudly coughed he woke up for a few moments, but then he fell asleep again. I was miffed he was so inattentive. I thought my …
God’s Forgiveness
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Mt. 7:11) When I knew my mother could be one illness away from dying, I went to see her. As we sat down …
The Kingdom of God
“From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (Mt. 4:17) I had taken off a few months from visiting the vets at the jail. When I walked into the cell, a guy greeted me by giving me a hug and saying he had been praying for me. …
Seeing God’s Face
“But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” (Revelation 22:3-4) I’ve been deeply troubled by the recent news about the number of white people—whether they are public officials or not—who had …
Glimpses of Heaven
The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life… (John 3:35) Just as hell can be here and now, so can heaven. Jesus says that when we believe in Him, we are given eternal life. Heaven isn’t simply the place where we hope …