In the mornings, when I pray, I light a candle. When my quiet time is over, I carry the candle from room to room with me as I ready myself for the day...
On my way to the bus stop this morning, walking the narrow balance beam of a tiny sidewalk, I found myself doing it again. A car sped past me at twice the speed...
In some cultures, it is common at funeral services to call the name of the deceased three times. Because the dead person cannot respond, others declare, "I am here." Those are not idle...
In last Wednesday’s reflection, I focused on 1 Corinthians 1:2, where Scripture reveals that all of us have been called by God...
When I was a child, I was afraid of sirens. If a police car was racing through our neighborhood with its siren blazing, I’d plug my ears and find a safe place to...
High school youth group years were my spiritual glory years. A worship service every Sunday morning followed by Sunday School for teenagers and the fairly frequent service later that evening. Youth...
1 Corinthians 1:3 is one of those verses in Scripture that we tend to skim because the language is so familiar. Indeed, the Apostle Paul begins most of his letters with a “wish-prayer” that the...
Consciousness is self awareness. The moment a person realizes that he or she exists is when the conscious mind is born. Before...
Throughout spring, my kids would come to me with requests to join their friends on outings such as sleepovers, birthday parties, and a production of “The Three Musketeers,” but I had to say...
Today our focus moves from Jeremiah to 1 Corinthians. If you’re new to these Daily Reflections, let me explain why 1 Corinthians is next in line. My ultimate plan is to work my...
At first reading, the final chapter of Jeremiah seems oddly out of place. It contains no prophesies of Jeremiah. Indeed, the prophet isn’t even mentioned. (A man named Jeremiah appears in 52:1, but...
Dearest Laura, ...
Psalm 126 begins by celebrating the return of the Israelites from exile (126:1). It was a time of laughter as God’s people rejoiced in the “amazing things” God had done for them (126:2-3).But the...
I was seventeen when I entered the workforce in what was likely the most unglamorous job possible—gas station attendant. The reasons why I ended up at the local BP are many and not...
Although the book of Jeremiah includes a fifty-second chapter, the prophet’s messages come to an end in chapter fifty one. Most of this chapter contains an ongoing prophecy of the fall of Babylon....
L.L. here, with Random Acts of Poetry. There is something about history that intrigues. My eldest daughter is especially drawn to the...
Though rest has an important physical dimension, it’s about more than a good night’s sleep, more than mere physical recuperation. Rest has vital psychological and spiritual dimensions to it as well...
Jeremiah 50 is, for the most part, God’s word of judgment upon Babylon. Though he used this nation for his purposes, the time was approaching when Babylon itself would fall to foreign powers. In...
I have a friend named Sarah, who is a very wise person. She once told me something that I’ve never forgotten. She said that in this life there are about twelve people who...
Right around this time nine years ago, my wife shared the news that she was pregnant with our first child. And though there was joy (much, much joy), there was also something else.
