A labyrinth is a flat circle or square consisting of a path that winds around to its center. They’ve been found all over the pagan world. But, interestingly enough, they’ve also been found in churches (!) as far back as the 4th century. The earliest known example of a labyrinth in a Christian church dates … Read more
“God is light” (1 John 1:5). “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:4-9). Think about light again. God is light and, in Jesus, the true light, which gives light to everyone, came into the world. “And,” John wrote, “we have seen his glory, glory as of the … Read more
“God is light” (1 John 1:5). “In Him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John [the Baptist]. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the … Read more
It’s not a message we hear too often from Christian pulpits today: You have to be harder on yourself! But, here’s what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27: “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” Now, I’m not loving this translation! It’s TOO … Read more
Bob Dylan wrote some really great songs during his so-called ‘born-again’ period. Perhaps the most famous was, You Gotta Serve Somebody. The lyrics are pure gold: You may be an ambassador to England or France You may like to gamble, you might like to dance You may be the heavyweight champion of the world You … Read more
As God leads us through the various seasons of life, He wants us to know that there’s always a rest available. Some of life’s seasons are clearly more difficult than others, but God’s rest – and internal Garden of Eden, a place where we can retreat in the calm of His presence – is never … Read more
Ecclesiastes chapter 3 may be one of the most well-known chapters of the Bible, familiar to believers and non-believers alike. It talks about the times and season of life. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; … Read more
“For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29). Near the very end of His earthly ministry, Jesus told a story, a parable. It was about a Master who was about to … Read more
I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it” (1 Corinthians 3:2). Mary and I love art! So, recently we took in an exhibition in Boston at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum called, Fra Angelico: Heaven on Earth. Fra Angelico was a truly breath-taking painter of the early renaissance. … Read more
Like many believers, I always find Holy Week to be exhausting. By the time we get to Resurrection Sunday we’ve walked with Jesus through a thousand highs and lows – through the joyful, if misguided, shouts of ‘Hosanna,’ to the shocking cries of, ‘Crucify Him, let His blood be upon our hands and the hands … Read more