There is this great scene in the movie Awakenings. It is based on a true story about a young doctor named Oliver Sacks who was working with patients suffering from a condition called “sleeping sickness.” They were basically living in a catatonic state – not completely unconscious, but not fully awake either. In the movie, […]
Some time ago, I heard about a group of women from a small suburban church who would meet every Tuesday evening to pray. Because their faithfulness in prayer was so well known in their area, they would get prayer requests from far and wide. For several years they prayed specifically for a baby – one […]
Over the past few days, we reflected on Ezekiel’s call story (2:1-5) and on how sometimes God sends prophets into our lives with the message we most need to hear. Today, I’m remembering a time when we were traveling up to North Carolina on Christmas Day. We stayed overnight at a hotel along the way. […]
Over the past two days, we reflected on Ezekiel’s call story (2:1-5) and on how sometimes God sends prophets into our lives with the message we most need to hear. Today, I can’t help but think about a conversation we had with one of the candidates for the Associate Pastor position at our church. He […]
Yesterday we reflected on Ezekiel’s call story (2:1-5) and on how sometimes God sends prophets into our lives with the message we most need to hear. I can’t help but think about my friend Jim Campbell. I always thought of him as the mayor of Westminster Woods. We went to lunch once a month for […]
In the opening chapters of the book of Ezekiel, we hear his call story. Ezekiel was among the people of Israel in exile in Babylon when he received his summons. God says to him, Mortal though you are, you are going to carry my message to the people. And whether they hear – or refuse […]
The Apostle Paul once wrote, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Very rarely in scripture does Paul, or anyone else for that matter, say this clearly: This is God’s will for you. But here it is. And it’s very […]
Dick Howser was a much-loved manager of the Kansas City Royals baseball team in the 1980s. When he resigned due to brain cancer, his wife Nancy said, “As a child, I was brought up to believe that it is not whether or not you won or lost, but how you played the game that mattered. […]
Renaissance scholar, Erasmus once told a classic story that was designed to stress the importance of our role in God’s purposes for the Earth. In this apocryphal story, Jesus returns to heaven after his time on earth. The angels gather around him to learn what all happened. Jesus tells them of the miracles, his teaching, […]
Psalm 133 reads: How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! Anyone living with multiple teenagers in their house can attest to just how true that is! And many times over the years when my girls have started to pick at one another or fight between themselves, I’ve quoted the […]
