Putting Our Money Where Our Faith Is
We often make decisions without really knowing our own motives. Without really thinking about why we are doing what we do. However, if we estimate how many of our decisions are based on money from how often the New Testament talks about money, people probably follow financial motives more than they think they do. Jesus spoke a lot about money, and so does the rest of the New Testament. Too…
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Church is Not a Shopping Mall
I recently had a very strange dream, which occurred (kind of) in the church I went to as a kid. This church, in Washington, D.C., has been around for over 130 years and meets in a stone building and has an amazing pipe organ in the main sanctuary. The appearance and structure of the church communicates permanence and tradition. In this dream, I was roughly a teenager on one end…
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Daily Readings for July 6 – 12
Fellow travelers: For those looking for a Bible reading plan, each week I post 2 chapters to read per day as a main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2026, I’ll post the extra chapters to read that week. The main readings will include nearly all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Prophets, and a few other Old Testament books.…
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We’re All Little Pharaohs
Anyone who knows the story of the Exodus knows who the bad guy is: Pharaoh. As the leader of Egypt, he is primarily to blame for the enslavement of Israel. Eventually, through Moses and Aaron, God tells Pharaoh to free the Israelites from slavery, and time and again Pharaoh refuses. Clearly, Pharaoh is God’s enemy. However, in his resistance to God, I think Pharaoh fell into some habits any of…
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We Don’t Understand God
Several chapters at the end of the book of Acts in the Bible detail how Paul was destined to share the Gospel in Rome and how God preserved his life in order for him to get there. One such story happened when Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta. The people on the ship carrying Paul were welcomed by the people of Malta, but when Paul had gathered sticks…
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God Cares About Your Pots and Pans
The book of Zechariah, one of the “minor prophets”, contains many puzzling visions and predictions of the then-coming (and now coming-again) Messiah, Jesus. Zechariah prophesied after the Babylonian exile and God’s purpose through him was to give hope to His people in the form of a glorious future under a perfect King. The book ends with these verses: “And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of…
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Jesus is Patient and Kind Even When I am Not
Jesus is patient and kind; Jesus does not envy or boast; Jesus is not arrogant or rude. Jesus does not insist on His own way; He is not irritable or resentful; He does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Knowing the love Jesus has for us is an encouraging thought. This paraphrase of 1…
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Only God Gets the Glory for Gomer’s Goods
In the story of the Old Testament prophet Hosea, God told him to marry a prostitute named Gomer to teach a lesson about idolatry, but also about God’s steadfast love and mercy. Gomer was not only a prostitute physically, but also spiritually, worshipping other gods, which isn’t limited to literal, physical idols. Hosea 2:8-9 explains that idolatry includes giving credit to other gods (or no gods) for things that the…
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Verses to Live and Blog By
Today’s post is a response to a writing prompt: “What gives you direction in life?” The short answer to the question is a who, not a what: God. Without a meaningful origin and destiny that comes from having a loving Creator and Lord, I’m not sure where I would find direction. The longer answer is that God’s communication to us through the Bible provides direction for both life and for…
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Daily Readings for June 29 – July 5
Fellow travelers: For those looking for a Bible reading plan, each week I post 2 chapters to read per day as a main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2026, I’ll post the extra chapters to read that week. The main readings will include nearly all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Prophets, and a few other Old Testament books.…
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Driving Toward the Morning Sun 