Over the past few days, we’ve been looking at the Lord’s Prayer, reflecting on how each line in and of itself might be a resource for our own prayer life. We continue today with the last three petitions. Jesus gives us three requests: for bread, forgiveness, and deliverance. All three are significant reminders that we […]
Over the past couple of days, we’ve been looking at the Lord’s Prayer, reflecting on how each line in and of itself might be a resource. We continue those reflections today. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus begins the prayer, our Father… in heaven. Our Father, who is above and bigger than all that is, […]
Yesterday we spoke about the Lord’s Prayer as a beautiful resource. But we have to be careful, don’t we? Because, I don’t know about you, but with something I’m very familiar with, I can sometimes say the words without ever even thinking about them, They never hit here inside. In fact, sometimes we can say […]
When you read the gospels, you see fairly quickly how Jesus steeps his life and ministry in prayer. We find that he continues to break away from the crowds, break away from the teaching and healing to spend time apart with God. There is no doubt that prayer is a source of renewal, and strength, […]
Once, when John the Baptist was in jail, he asked his followers to go and find Jesus and to ask him, “Are you the one we were expecting, or should we look for someone else?” Remember John was a man of deep faith. And yet, even he has a moment of doubt. Even he had […]
Author and Pastor Max Lucado once told a story about the day his wife brought home a monkey. His daughters were thrilled! But Max was not. He had all kinds of questions. Where was the monkey going to eat? His wife said that he was going to sit at the table and eat with them, […]
Over the past couple of days we’ve been reflecting on Psalm 98: Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth! Break forth into songs and sing praises! Sometime back I heard the Benedictine monk, David Steindl-Rast speak in an interview. And I went back to listen to his TED Talk, “Want to be […]
Psalm 98 declares: Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth! Break forth into songs and sing praises! Yesterday we reflected on how there are times when our hearts naturally burst with praise. However, we must acknowledge that there are other times in our lives, when our hearts are heavy, when we find […]
Psalm 98 declares: Sing to the Lord a new song! Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth! Break forth into songs and sing praises! There are times in our lives when our hearts naturally burst with praise… at the birth of a child, or perhaps at your own wedding. Or maybe you’ve […]
Psalm 98 begins, “Sing to the Lord a new song!” This is not a unique invitation: (See also: Psalms 33:3, 40:3, 96:1, 144:9, 149:1, Isaiah 42:10; Revelation 5:9, 14:3). The early Christians chanted this psalm as a hymn about Christ. They found it expressed their joy at having found a king who brought salvation and […]
