Do you remember when you were a child learning how to tell the time? First, your parents told you the strange news that somehow a clock had “hands.” Next, they showed you that one hand was longer than the other, and based on this odd fact, you could identify the time of day down to the very minute! Then came the wonderful day when you realized you didn’t have to bother with any of this complicated business at all. Digital clocks were far more practical! As children, we don’t just learn to tell time by looking at a clock. From […]

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom” (Matthew 5:3).   Do you feel weary? Tired? Do you feel discouraged at your lack of physical, emotional or spiritual strength? Today, God is giving us an invitation through this incredibly powerful verse. He calls the poor in spirit blessed. He invites those who feel their deep need and their poverty of heart to come and experience the kingdom for themselves. He invites us.   This passage has been ringing in my heart for months. It seems that lately everywhere I look I feel my weakness; I feel my […]

Join me in the theater of the imagination. A cohort of ragtag men and women, disciples of Jesus Christ, who at best, were social pariahs and at worst, enemies of the state, sat in a room with only their testimonies of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. In fact, all they had in common was Jesus. They sat there awaiting the promise of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who would empower them to fulfill the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations. The Holy Spirit would give them the power to be witnesses to Him around […]

Worship is an essential foundation to the Christian life; it binds the creation to the Creator.  Corporate worship is an abundant source of joy and encouragement, as believers gather together to lift up their praise to God. However, once the church building is empty, many Christians find themselves silently struggling with the practice of personal worship. Have you ever tried to use a spiritual “band-aid” to solve a problem that is beyond you? Maybe you’ve felt disconnected from God, so you’ve tried to “fix” it with a quick prayer for a change of heart and a joyful spirit. Or maybe […]

Have you ever seen a Lurk? Lurks are common but most people won’t recognize them. A Lurk reminds me of the Mimic octopus, who has a unique way of camouflaging as it blends in with the seafloor and its surroundings by changing its skin color and the shape of its tentacles to take on the shape of other sea creatures. Perhaps many of you are hearing about the Lurk for the first time but I am here to assure you it exists, and I believe you have seen it all the while not realizing that you have. The Lurk can […]

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 ESV). The COVID Problem After nearly four months of the most unprecedented world events any of us has ever experienced, we are, Lord willing, continuing to make our way out of this pandemic. I plan to go back to devoting these articles in the Good News to sharing truths that will strengthen our faith and prepare us to give an answer for the hope we have within us. But before I move away from sharing my thoughts on living through all the bizarre events that have taken […]

Both of my cars are garage dwellers. The tools needed for any project are my neighbor’s, and more often than not he ends up providing the means, the expertise and the labor, given my complete disdain for creating or putting things together. This should make me an “ideas guy,” but that’s another story. So, the box arrives, and to my concern, it necessitates some minimal assembly. Things deteriorate when the instructions are written in a foreign language; I vainly try to assemble it by sight, which only the sight of my neighbor can make right. I feel lost. Altar boy […]