Good Morning Friends,  Reading the Bible this morning on Mother's Day is for me like walking along a familiar river of peace and though the words are the same words, the metaphors immerse me in a different reality each year when I step into them. The reading, though often the same text, is different … Continue reading How Do Shepherds and Mothers Keep Their Flock From Upstaging Jesus? →

Good Morning Friends,     If you are going to be a witness to a life in Jesus, you must know the basics of our faith and today's lectionary selection gives a great start in understanding the key elements of what to share. People are confused about what is important so here are a few suggestions. … Continue reading Will Our Witness Help Others Believe? →

Good Morning Friends,     Over the last week we have been following the lectionary and the story of the power of the Holy Spirit that would give birth to the Church and the missionary journeys of faithful followers of Jesus. Yesterday we looked at a bit of prophecy in how the severed body parts cut … Continue reading Are You Trusting In The Lord To Change The World? →

   Good Morning Friends,  Yesterday's devotional was about hearing and listening and as a follow up to that we look at Jesus' final message before he died and his last miracle before he was crucified. And they combine to give us some clues, as a type of prophecy, as to the role of Christianity and … Continue reading What Would Your Last Act Be Before You Died? →

    Good Morning Friends,     Today's meditation is on grace and grit… on the Good Shepherd and the salvation message being shared to both Jews and Gentiles. It is about how Jesus gives us direction in our lives both individually and collectively. It is about how sometimes His rod and staff are manifested through scripture or the … Continue reading Are You Hearing And Following The Spirit Of The Good Shepherd? →

   Good Morning Friends,  There is a door though which we enter to find Jesus. Sam Shoemaker wrote a piece about this which I have included with today's devotional because it relates the text from John that we have been immersing ourselves during the journey from Passion to Pentecost, even though it is a bit … Continue reading Will We Shepherd Those We Would Like To Spend Eternity And Even Those We Wouldn’t? →

Are You In Search Of Shalom At The Gate To A Pasture Where The Church's Purpose Is Being Fulfilled?      Good Morning Friends,  Often churches have a mindset on purpose that can be similar to how some relate to healthcare. They do not do any serious self-examinations for fear of a diagnosis and yet … Continue reading Are You In Search Of Shalom At The Gate To A Pasture Where The Church’s Purpose Is Being Fulfilled? →

 Good Morning Friends,    Today we look at a little shock and awe scripture and the combination of the lectionary selections gives us some interesting insights about why the church must be more visible today than it currently is or risk being superficial. We must work at this realizing despite the lines about us being … Continue reading How Do You Feel About Eating The Fruit Of Another’s Labor? →

How Are We To Fellowship With The Holy Spirit?  Good Morning Friends,    Maybe it was an angel, or the Holy Spirit and maybe it was a willingness to trust, for the Ethiopian eunuch knew something about the importance of trust. And maybe it took someone caring enough to guide another in understanding the Word … Continue reading How Are We To Fellowship With The Holy Spirit? →

Good Morning Friends,  New Normal is a term in business and economics that refers to financial conditions following the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the aftermath of the 2008–2012 global recession. So even the term is new relative to history, but the concept is Biblical. The term has been used in a variety of contexts to imply … Continue reading Do You Believe The New Normal Will Be Better Than The Old? →