A good friend of mine died yesterday. Jill had retired early from her post as professor of kinesiology at our local university last year. Having already survived cancer and open-heart surgery, she...
In the spring of 1974, I was standing in line to preregister for fall classes at Western Washington University. I’d come at my appointed time, but knew I wasn’t ready. I had scribbled...
God’s creative thrust brought the world into an orderly, beautiful whole. Then something went terribly wrong on planet earth. It seems blown apart—the original wholeness and unity is asunder. ...
Just after Christmas, I was privileged to speak at a memorial service—celebrating the life of my dear friend, Bruce McIver. What a service! Amid outbreaks of laughter, Bruce's wife recalled his...
When my son Howard was about four, every morning as I left for work, he had a set little question: "Daddy, where are you going?" And every morning, I'd say, "Son, I'm going...
The great Old Testament scholar Gerard Von Rad published a series of his lectures under the curious title of God at Work in Israel. What did he mean? Did the title speak of...
After the terrorist attack on our country last fall, most Americans struggled with sinking spirits. I was no different. Most afternoons I sat beside my mother's bed in a nursing home as her mind...
Based on Mark 6:30–44 in the New Testament ...
The late Bruce McIver once told of an elementary school girl who followed her baptism with a spontaneous swim the length of...
“Hi, love, how’d you sleep?” ...
Mary, Martha, and their brother, Lazarus, were Jesus’ good friends. He visited frequently in their home and loved them all dearly (John...
When we were very young, my mother gave her children the gifts of poetry, music, and song. When I was afraid, I could sing a song, or play the piano, or write poetry...
It makes sense, in a way. The Apostle Paul had come to town and preached powerfully about the Lord Jesus’ death, resurrection, and imminent return to gather all the faithful. “Maranatha! Come,...
A beautiful early morning greeted sleepy vacationers as they shuffled onto the hay wagon for a ride to the cowboy breakfast. Some 40 of us were stifling yawns and waiting to roll when a voice...
Cast all your worries upon Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 ...
I was fourteen when my brother taught me to play chess, and I couldn’t get enough of it. For hours on summer afternoons, I played in the shade of our backyard maple tree...
On September 11, Americans were violently rocked by thousands of untimely deaths. We were stunned, but quickly united. People unable to assist at Ground Zero did everything else possible. They...
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each...
Just the way we use the word hope makes it difficult to define. "I hope it doesn’t rain this weekend." "My life is founded on Christian hope." To get to the biblical understanding...
On a recent flight, my friend Dan overheard a conversation about the San Antonio River Walk. At first, the couple talked about their marvelous visit. As a San Antonian, my friend silently beamed....
