HE IS RISEN! A glorious and blessed Easter Sunday to you and yours, and may your celebration of the resurrection of our Lord be deeply meaningful to your spirit today. It is a beautiful day to feast and celebrate with family and loved ones, and a wonderful opportunity to pause and reflect on the most momentous event in history.

Those of us who follow Jesus and celebrate this day are making an absolutely audacious claim: we believe that in His death and resurrection, God the Son took our sin and shame upon Himself; defeated death, hell, and the grave; and made a way for us to be with God forever in eternity. Many of our friends and neighbors think we’re crazy for really believing such a thing. They humor us (at least for now) and think, “sure, it’s fine to call yourself a Christian, but don’t go overboard.” 

But, since Jesus' resurrection has truly, factually, historically happened, it cannot be ignored. It requires that every person answer this question found in Luke 9…
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Just a little over a week after Peter's magnificent revelation,  Jesus invited His closest friends to witness something marvelous - what we now call the transfiguration. Fully man and also fully God, Jesus met at the top of the mountain with the physical representation of the law and the prophets -  what an amazing gathering! The veil of time and space between here and Heaven was somehow lifted for a moment; the three old friends stood talking about Jesus' own great exodus that was coming shortly. Both Moses and Elijah and all that they represented had always pointed to the great Messiah, and now Jesus was here, preparing to cross the gap between death and life for all of us, forever breaking the curse of sin and death! 

Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus in all His glory, which much have been a tremendous sight to behold.  I can't say that I would have done anything different than Peter, who immediately started chatting and making unhelpful suggestions. When I get nervous, I get chatty, too! Peter thought, here is Moses the deliverer we've heard so much about, and Elijah the great prophet - now Jesus is here! Let's build all three important leaders a shelter and stay here forever. In other words, Peter might have understood that Jesus was Messiah, but didn't yet know exactly what that meant. 

This is where so many land today - mentally assenting, like Peter and the other disciples had, that Jesus is the Messiah; believing in Him, but needing to realize...

Jesus isn’t just a wonderful teacher and friend  we all love to be around because He makes us feel so good.

He isn’t just a great leader for His generation, another Moses or Elijah.

He isn’t just the perfect respresentation of all that humanity was created to be, someone we can aspire to emulate in action and morals.

​On this Resurrection Day, Who do you say that He is?  Let Christ the King take the sin and shame from your life, and bring peace and rest into your troubled soul. Let Him fill your heart with joy and hope through His Holy Spirit. Let Him carry your burdens, for they are not too heavy for His strong hands. This marvelous King has conquered sin and death, and has overcome this broken world! He encourages us, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

Spring is well on its way, at least here in southeast Texas. The first sign is our annual coating of pine pollen, which gives our world a yellow glow. But the flowers and trees are also beginning to bloom - Carolina jasmine, redbud and ornamental pear trees, and even the first bluebonnets are emerging, making good on their annual promise of new birth and new growth. What a miracle the burst of new life is after a long winter of bare branches and fruitlessness! 

I'd love to share with you something I wrote over 20 years ago, as a part of a little project I worked on about the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians chapter 5. It is always fun for me to look back and "hear" what almost-30 year old me was thinking about. I was in the thick of our young marriage, motherhood, and ministry years, and was writing from a just-post 9/11 perspective.

Looking back, that tragic event served as the cracked-open doorway for my own understanding that this world is broken. Before that event, I was like so many people who live their entire lives being surprised by one terrible thing happening after another, convinced that each one is an anomaly. The truth is that the terrible things are to be expected; rather, it is the lovely and beautiful things in life that are the real surprise, and each one should be treasured. 

So how beautiful are the characteristics of God, that He so freely shares with us through His Spirit! Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; all of these are the antithesis of our cruel and selfish ways. Not long ago, when the world was smaller and our culture was still influenced by a biblical worldview, it was easier to believe that all people were naturally gifted with these same lovely characteristics, but it’s not so easy to think that any more. The whole world is connected and our selfish human nature is on display for all to see like never before thanks to social media, which is like a mirror that shows what is really in the hearts of people. Life in the Spirit is truly countercultural, and the world is desperate for more of each of these lovely traits in action. Our lives can bless and encourage just like the spring blooms, when we keep in step with the Spirit. 

Today, let's go back to 2002, and revisit some thoughts about God's goodness...

Psalm 34:1-10 (NIV)
I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.  My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.  Glorify the Lord with me, let us exalt His name together.  I sought the Lord, and He answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. The poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Each of the fruit of the Spirit is a representation of one of the qualities of God’s character.  Anyone who has met the Lord and has experienced salvation knows that the goodness of God is like nothing else in the world.  I will never forget the way my whole outlook was changed when Jesus became my Savior and Lord.  Not everyone actually feels despairing or suicidal outside of a relationship with Christ, but so many have at least felt the hopelessness and lack of purpose that exists outside of a relationship with Jesus, and that was my experience.
    
When Jesus comes into a heart, He rights all of the wrongs, and makes things come into order. When I gave my heart to Jesus, I felt complete for the first time.  Jesus brings satisfaction, wholeness, peace, and purpose:  He is good.  Nothing about me changed on the outside.  I still appeared to be the same person.  But on the inside, everything was changed, and I could feel it.  To quote a great old hymn, “My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but in whole, was nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul!”  Before salvation we are weighed down by the burden of our sinful nature.  After the cross we are free through the shed blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  He is good.

As we are made new creatures in Christ, we take on His righteousness and His character.  Our sinful nature is put to death and we begin to walk in step with the Spirit.  We experience and feel the goodness of God, and we are able to pass on His goodness to others. 

How can one describe goodness?  I think the psalmist understood what it meant as he wrote Psalm 34.  God, in His goodness, hears and answers our cries.  He delivers us from fears and anxiety.  He takes away our shame.  He saves us from our troubles.  He delivers us. In essence, He takes all of the ugliness from our fallen nature and replaces it with what is right, unbroken, and unblemished:  with goodness. 

The world is ugly and broken.  If you turn on the news tonight you will see dozens of images testifying to the sad state of this world.  Wars, terrorism, diseases, famine, domestic violence, murder, abandonment, addiction, abuse, hedonism – the list of woes is long and painful.  This world is broken. It is wrong and it is upside down.  Jesus alone can set us aright and bring light and goodness into our lives.  

As followers of Christ, as bearers of the fruit of His Spirit, it is our duty to bring His goodness – or one could also call it His wholeness and reality – to a broken world.  Before experiencing Christ, we all do things just because that is what everyone else is doing, without really thinking about it.  Young people drink alcohol, experiment with drugs, act rebellious, and become promiscuous because that is what the world says they should do.  Married couples fight, become adulterous, and divorce because that is what the world says they should do.  Children whine, fight, act rebellious and greedy because no one ever challenges them to anything different or better. The acts of the sinful nature are ugly.    

Since we have experienced the goodness of the Lord, it is our responsibility to share it with the people around us.  We have experienced the liberty and sweet freedom that comes from living within the restraints of Christianity.  The goodness of God is in His reality – in His holiness and purity.  It’s like tasting something delicious for the first time.  When my baby had her first taste of ice cream, her eyes lit up and she opened her mouth for more.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good!”
    
I will never forget the actual relief that I felt when I became a Christian and realized that there really was a right and wrong, and that it really did matter how I lived my life.  The choices I had been making had been leaving me empty and despondent – my life was not going anywhere.  After I met Jesus and began doing things to please Him, I felt terrific!  It would be wrong for me to think that I am the only person in the world who would feel that way about the changes that Jesus brought to my behavior.  It would be wrong for me to believe that I shouldn’t share the goodness of God because people might find His commandments restrictive or outdated.  I had never felt more real or alive than I have since I met Jesus, and the same will be true for so many others.
    
Most people have such a misconception of Jesus and of Christianity in general.  It is not just a list of do’s and don’ts.  It is a living, growing relationship with our Creator and Savior.  It is finally becoming the person He created us to be.  In His goodness He brings freedom where we were in bondage.  He brings order where we lived in chaos.  He brings reality when we were trapped in deception.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can share this goodness with the people around us.  I will never stop being grateful for my parents for raising me in a Christian home, or for the woman who shared God’s goodness with me in college, and who challenged me to surrender my life to Him, And there are many people in your life today that would be ecstatic to hear of His goodness through you!

It is not difficult.  We just need to open up our lives and share the good news.  It is always true that people will be turned off by Christians who speak angrily, judgmentally, or condescendingly.  However, it is also true that people respond to kindness.  If we take the time to make an investment in someone’s life, we can earn the right to speak the truth to that person in love. In my own experience, my friend in college did not mock my very ungodly behavior choices or tell me that I was going to hell to burn forever.  She invited me into her home week after week and shared her life with me.  She listened to me, prayed for me, and cooked for me!  She was a friend to me, and I grew to love and trust her. I saw her life and could see the obvious difference between the two of us.  The peace and contentment she displayed were something that I wanted; I wanted to be like her.  Soon, when I was presented with the choice of salvation, I was ready.  I had seen the goodness of God displayed in her life, and wanted that in my own life.
    
​Since then, I have seen the same story unfold in countless lives!  The goodness of God is so attractive and powerful.  The Holy Spirit will develop this fruit in our lives when we ask Him, and many people will “taste and see that the Lord is good!”

Back to 2024…

With a couple more decades of life lived, I would just add that our wills must be exercised in allowing God’s goodness to grow in and flow through our lives. He has done all the heavy lifting to save us, and His Spirit is always at work in conforming us into the image of Christ. We must cooperate with this work, and be so mindful of each day’s choices. The world is screaming for us all to be angry and vengeful, but God is full of mercy and grace, and asks us to be His representatives to the people around us. How amazing it is to have the opportunity each day to choose to bring God’s goodness everywhere we go!

And with that, full disclosure - I edited out so many exclamation points, as twenty-something me used them a bit too liberally. But I pray that these thoughts will stay with you this week, and that the wonderful goodness of God will shine through you wherever you go and upon whomever the Lord leads you towards. May your life be an encouragement and blessing to many - 

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours! I confess that one of the great pleasures I find in life is reading old, and often quite romantic, novels by George MacDonald. He was a contemporary of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and other literary giants of the nineteenth century, and did not shy away from sharing his deep faith with his readers. Rather, his novels are always intentionally packed with godly characters and themes, which is so refreshing and encouraging.

Right now, I am reading Thomas Wingfold, Curate (aka The Curate’s Awakening*), which tells the story of a young preacher who, upon confrontation, finds his faith terribly lacking, and throughout the course of the narrative is truly born again. In the meantime, he helps a local sister and brother walk through a dark and devastating time in their lives. As he is coming awake spiritually, Thomas thinks deeply about the reality and importance of the hope found in Jesus Christ…

​This set me thinking about how often it is too easy to be flippant about others’ pain. We are alive in a generation that is absolutely deadened to deep feeling. We watch movies and TV shows all the time that depict violent, terrible things happening and we don’t even blink an eye, let alone lose any sleep over it. We hear news stories about atrocities, and we go right on to the next thing - just keep scrolling. We move from one “outrage” (which is an effective strategy known as, I believe, “clickbait”) to another, and our blood pressure barely even rises, if at all. Our senses have been overloaded and dulled to the point that just about nothing phases us. We have seen and heard at all.


This all sounds fine, and good, until we take stock of how well we are doing at caring for our neighbors. The sensory-dulling of our world does not serve us well in helping people. It is too easy to be and remain a spectator. I just can’t be bothered to care about pain and brokenness in the people around me when I have the mindset that it’s just another day, after all. Just keep scrolling through life.


Worse, we actually feel a strange sort of giddy relief when bad things happen to other people. Thank God they’re not happening to us! Sickness, legal trouble, drug addictions, marriage implosions, broken relationships, on and on the list goes and I can’t seem to muster up very much care or concern. It feels like the movies that I watch – not my problem. Until of course, it is my problem, and then everything is different.

Once you have experienced something difficult or tragic or unjust, and have had opportunity to see and understand how good, faithful, kind, and gracious God is in the middle of the darkness, it becomes much easier to have compassion, and to want to ease the load of grief for someone else who is going through the same thing. This is one amazing example of how our good Father in heaven makes beauty for ashes every day. People who have walked through difficult, hellacious things, and had their faith strengthened through it can offer God’s comfort and hope like nobody else can. Just a kind voice and sympathetic face uttering the words, “I understand” can be so meaningful to anyone going through a crisis. The weight and authority that is given to someone’s words after walking through their own bitter experiences can give vital hope and courage to others.

Once you have had the terrible experience, you are changed forever. The world tells us all to stay in our pain and never move past it. But God’s Kingdom is so different from this world. We might find ourselves deeply wounded in life, but subsequently uniquely fitted to help others in a powerful way. No one can have compassion for couples who lose a child to miscarriage or stillbirth, or any other way, like another couple who has experienced the same loss and grief. No one can understand what it feels like to get the frightening medical diagnosis like a person who has experienced that same thing. No one can understand what it feels like to hear a knock on the door and to be handed a legal paper that changes your life forever like someone who has heard that same knock. A pink slip at work, blue lights in the driveway, betrayal by a friend, divorce papers… the list of life’s devastations can be long. Until you go through something yourself, it is difficult to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Once you go through something difficult yourself, and experience firsthand the nearness and comfort of Jesus, it is important to share that comfort and hope with others.


Think about what you have walked through in your own life. What difficult circumstances, what unimaginable realities? We live in a broken world, and everywhere we go are surrounded by people who have endured terrible physical, sexual, and emotional pain or abuse. Or they have lost someone they loved very much in a tragic circumstance. Or they have made terrible choices that yielded bitter fruit. Last time I mentioned the verse in Lamentations that says, “because of God’s great love we are not consumed.” It is amazing that people all around us have lived through some of the difficult circumstances that life has brought their way, and it truly is an incredible miracle when someone makes it through singing the praises of God, with their faith intact and even strengthened.


It is this way that the hands and feet of Jesus are multiplied by the millions. Those of us who have gone through difficult things yet can testify to God‘s grace and nearness even in the darkest, deepest pits can help others who are currently going through a similar situation. Those of us who have experienced slander and betrayal of every kind, but who found comfort from Christ who was betrayed with a kiss from a friend, can encourage others who are currently facing the same abuse and disappointment. Those of us who have endured abuse to our bodies and minds, and were comforted by Jesus who was brutalized and crucified, can be there for people who are freshly suffering through similar things.


This world is cruel and is filled with broken people and broken systems. This is where people of the light can shine brightly. We too have endured difficult, unimaginable things, but in Christ have a peace that passes all understanding and a love that is higher, wider, and stronger than anything that would try to overcome it. 


As we celebrate this special season of love and kindness, be mindful of those who need your encouragement most. Pick up your phone and give them a call or send them a text. Don’t assume that you would be bothering them;  too many of us assume that, and too few of us reach out. Your words and encouragement will be a song in their souls, and will give them strength. Send that email, or flowers, or a card, or a gift – any token of care is so meaningful to someone who is going through the darkest time of their life. The last thing our family, friends, and neighbors need is one more person either adding fuel to the fire that is burning in their life, or totally ignoring them. Instead, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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- Mary ​

​*that title has all of the broad Scottish dialogue edited into standard English 

Happy New Year! It always feels so good to turn the page to a brand-new year, some years even more than others. I know there are quite a few of you reading this who are very glad to see 2023 begin to recede in the rear view mirror. It might have been tough, but we made it, and we have a new road ahead. Rather than spending all of our time dwelling on last years’ troubles, or bracing ourselves for those that will come this year, what if we spent more time focusing on the new things God is doing in our hearts and lives?


One of my favorite hymns is “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” which is heavily inspired by the book of Lamentations, itself one of the most strangely encouraging books in the Bible. It is an honest account of the difficulties and frustrations of life, and the questions and complaints that arise in all of our hearts at one time or another as we muddle through life in this fallen world. It is written in a literary form that is shaped like a mountain peak, rising and then falling with the crescendo in the very middle of the book, which says...

​Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
​

Other versions translate the word love to be mercies, and the thought is one worth pondering…God’s mercies and love are new every morning. In other words, they never run out or are exhausted - every day is New Year’s Day! This book was written as a lament over the destruction of an entire city; so many families and homes and livelihoods changed forever. But the prophet recognized that because of God's great love, the essence of who we are as real souls that will live forever, just can't be consumed.

Circumstances may be difficult, and we might even have to bear the repercussions of past decisions and complications (our own and others'), but the Lord’s powerful help and concern is ready and waiting with each sunrise. Even though we live in a frustrating, confusing, often tragic world, we are cared for by a patient and loving God of the New. Isn’t that amazing?


Honestly, recognizing God in this way can be confusing, and can even feel dishonoring. Our world has become so wrapped up in politics that we almost cannot help but equate the word “progressive” with a certain radical political agenda. But I am not talking about politics, and actually don’t believe that most of the world’s problems can be solved by governmental fiat. Rather, most of our troubles can be solved only by addressing the problem of the human heart.  God is always operating on hearts out of His love and goodness; He is always moving towards both truth and redemption, never away from them. 


God is quite progressive in the sense that He is always doing something new and unexpected - even unconventional. He isn’t like us, only able to act within certain bounds of power and agency. If you think you have Him and His ways figured out, think again. And if you think that you are out of answers and out of options for your life, look again to the God of the New. 


Here are just a few things our loving and merciful God has in store for you…
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​A New Song
I waited patiently for the LORD;
He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in Him. - Psalm 40:1-3


A New Outpouring
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke. - Joel 2:28-30


A New Heart 
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. - Ezekiel 11:19-20 


New Wine
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” - Matthew 9:16-17


A New Kingdom
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” - Mark 1:15


A New Command
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:34


A New Covenant
The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” -1 Corinthians 11:23-25


A New Point of View
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  - 2 Corinthians 5:16-17


A New Way of Thinking
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
- Ephesians 4:20-24


A New Self
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.  - Colossians 3:3-10


A New Birth
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. - 1 Peter 1:3-4


A New Name
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
​- Revelation 2:17

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This first month of a brand new year is almost past - it has already been long enough for the relief and bright hope of a new year to feel worn thin. What area of your life needs a touch from our God of the New? Lay your fears and concerns at His feet, and let Him carry them for you. Let Him take your heart of stone and breath warmth and life into it again. Let the Holy Spirit renew your mind and attitude, reset your perspective, and give you a lasting hope for the future. 


Further, what new things do you sense God doing in and through your life and circumstances? We cannot fall for the untruth that following God means life will be all sunshine and roses: Jesus followed in perfect obedience, all the way to death on the cross, and all but one of His closest disciples died martyrs’ deaths. Jesus Himself said that “in this world you will have trouble.” The cares, concerns, and trials of this fallen world are without number. HOWEVER, Jesus continued by saying, ‘but take heart! For I have overcome the world.”


God’s mercies and love are new every morning. In His hands, even the most severe testing and trials can bring beautiful fruit into our lives. Look carefully - what lovely things is God bringing into your life through your circumstances? Perhaps more love, compassion, patience, perseverance, grace, humility - all wonderful, desirable qualities that can’t be purchased or faked or forced. Let God develop these Christlike characteristics in your own heart and life. 


Lean into the daily-fresh love and mercies of our Father, and may this new year be one of tremendous spiritual growth and health! 

Merry Christmas to you and yours! This is certainly the most wonderful time of the year and I am loving every sign of the season: the colorful light displays in yards and windows, the cars packed in front of homes for family gatherings, walking through Walmart to the strains of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” - the list goes on and on. No matter how dark the world is or seems, Christmastime is a welcome reminder of the great and unchanging fact that Jesus Christ left the glory and majesty of Heaven to come here to save us.

​I was talking with an acquaintance just the other day who was worried about the news and for how dark things appear for our kids and grandkids. She confessed to me that, though her belief in God has not wavered, her hope in Him and His goodness has lately come into question and even doubt. She wondered why God, Who can do anything, doesn’t do anything to stop the terrible violence and confusion happening all around the world. If He truly is good, why doesn’t He step in? I appreciated her honesty and transparency, and our too-brief exchange prompted me to think deeply. Christmas is a great time to ponder and remember. 

Christmastime reminds us, as followers of Jesus, of some of the most foundational truths of our faith. We set up nativity scenes to commemorate the wondrous fact that our great God condescended to be born of a young, obscure virgin in a stable of all places, and was laid by HIs mother into a stable's feeding trough since there was no room anywhere else for the young family. We sing joyful anthems to mingle our voices with the great host of angels who proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests!” We gather around beautiful, lighted trees to remember the great star that God placed in the sky to guide the wise men from far-off lands towards the flesh-and-blood newborn King. We give and receive special gifts to emulate our gracious Creator Who gave His beloved Son, and our Savior Who gave His life.

But the backdrop of all of these lovely things was, and still is, a tough, unforgiving world. My acquaintance was not wrong to notice that the struggle is long and arduous. This world is filled with daily reminders that sin has tainted everything - our hearts, our relationships, even the very earth itself. But she had forgotten that God most certainly has done something about it...

This Christmas, I hope you have many special and meaningful gifts underneath your tree, both to give and receive. But I’d also love to encourage and remind you of some of the greatest gifts God generously gives to us. Think of all the fantastic things He has given! Life, breath, love, sunsets, beautiful music, dark roast coffee and key lime pie…the list is long and wonderful. Then consider the tremendous spiritual gifts He has bestowed: salvation, renewal, Spirit empowerment, eternal life - this list is even longer and more stunning in its generosity and kindness. And some gifts of God are given first to be experienced personally, and then to share with others: grace, forgiveness, mercy, all the fruit of the Spirit, and much more. Today, let’s look at one of these great gifts God has given to share...

Try to distill all of the struggles of the world into one sentence; what is the problem? I think the angels referenced it in their declaration to the shepherds - namely, there is so little peace. At best, we catch occasional glimpses of it, but the peaceful stretches never last long. Ever since the very first family of Adam and Eve, where one son murdered his brother, the defining characteristic of life after the fall has been strife. Husband vs. wife, parent vs. child, sibling vs. sibling, boss vs. worker, poor vs. rich, race vs. race, religion vs. religion, man vs. wild, even man vs. God. Truthfully, it goes al the way back to the moment Satan rebelled against God, and the angels have been fighting back demonic fallen angels ever since. There is little peace on earth or beyond. Oswald Chambers stated wisely that the world story is tragic, and only extreme optimists or people who simply haven’t thought much believe otherwise. 

We are all in a mess. Most of us know this from personal, and probably even recent, experience: the world is broken and painful - truly tragic and so often void of peace. 
Not just our own generation, but every single generation that has come before us. Evil has infiltrated creation, and everyone alive must learn to fight against it, or risk being consumed. This is part of our life’s work as followers of Christ: to learn to let God make good come out of the evil we experience (and sometimes cause) in our lives. 


Remember what the angels announced in their song, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace on whom His favor rests.” Heaven was rejoicing that night in full view of the shepherds - something marvelous and new and revolutionary had happened…the Prince of Peace was born! Jesus left the glory of Heaven to come for us so that we might have peace with God, and through that, peace with one another. 


This Christmas, there is not much that any of us can do to solve all of the world’s great problems, though we all wish we could. Wars and geopolitical conflict are not anything most of us can control or influence at all, beyond fervent and faithful prayer. But there is something important that each of us can right now, today, to help spread the peace of Christ throughout the earth - we can pass God’s incredible gift of reconciliation along to someone close. We can bring His peace into our own relationships.


Of the people you actually know and have relationship with, who makes your blood boil? With whom in your home, family, office, class, neighborhood, or church community are you currently at odds? Certainly, if you have caused the grief, then I encourage you to ask for forgiveness. But perhaps someone has done something awful to you. It could be all kinds of things - someone betrayed you, or rejected you, or humiliated you, or ignored you, or hurt you, or just hurt your feelings. Perhaps this person has spread nasty rumors or said vile things about you online, or even to your face. Maybe they have done or said that awful thing to you one too many times, and you’ve let a high wall be built in your heart between you and them. 


But Jesus has demonstrated again and again that He will forgive even the vilest sinner, restoring peace; not just extending forgiveness, but also restoring relationship. And He has given us the power to do the same. The best gift we can give this Christmas is to offer His beautiful gift of reconciliation to someone else. 


Is it easy? No. 
Will everyone joyfully receive our gift? No.
Can it be healing and helpful to our own hearts and homes? Yes! 
Will following Christ’s example of reconciliation help us grow spiritually? Yes!


Last year, we visited a beautiful land in the Middle East, and made a stop in a modest village, at an even more modest building, which housed the local congregation of Christ-followers. These people had so little themselves, but gave all they had to help a large population of Syrian refugees who had been relocated into their neighborhood. They frequently collected food, clothing, home goods, and just about everything else you could imagine to share with these men, women, and children who had been totally displaced by civil war. Their ministry outreach to the children of this group was particularly robust, and fruitful. I was loving hearing story after story of boys and girls who had heard the stories of Jesus for the first time in their lives from these faithful Christians, with quite a few experiencing dreams and visions of Christ Himself. Many had not yet responded in accepting the Prince of Peace, but the beautiful and startling thing is that some had, and their precious young hearts were transformed. And their parents could not help noticing that the Christians in town were the only group who tried to help meet their great need. My own heart was deeply stirred by the remarkable selflessness and generosity of this band of believers. 


But later that afternoon, it struck me that I had somehow missed an enormous piece of the story. One of the ladies was telling about a beautiful and uncommon snowfall that had occurred earlier in the year. Some of the refugee children had run out into the streets and alleys, and had made snowmen, as children often do. But, instead of putting a hat and scarf or a carrot nose on their creations, a few of the children took turns lopping the heads off the snowmen with their stick-swords, mimicking what they knew their fathers often had done back home. For, you see, these refugees were all Isis soldiers and their families who had been run out of their homeland because of their violence and chaos. 


These local Christians were putting their own lives and families and physical well-being at great risk in sharing the Gospel with people so detested by the bulk of society. Yet not one of them seemed hindered by the severity of the evil committed by those former soldiers, as though there were some sort of scale that could be tipped to “too severe” or as though there were some sins for which the blood of Jesus is insufficient. They were little concerned for their own reputations, or “platforms”, or boundaries, as so many of us would be in this age. The very air we all breath in this modern world is infused with wrath and vengeance, especially in their local context, but these Christians refused to inhale those noxious fumes, and instead gave off the very fragrance of Christ as they extended His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation. In the world’s eyes, none of them had much money, or power, or prestige. They simply had Jesus and His promises, which actually made them stronger, more powerful, and more impactful than anyone else I’ve ever met. My heart bowed in the presence of these spiritual giants.


This Christmas, let Jesus bring such peace into your own strife. When you gather with your family and friends, or get back to class or the office after the holidays, let the love and forgiveness that Jesus freely shares flow from your heart to the person who has been your enemy. None of us can control another’s actions or reactions, but with God's help we can all control our own. Jesus has loved and forgiven us, no matter what rebellion and pride has lurked in our own hearts, so we can extend this same grace to others. We have been reconciled to God, now let’s pass along this lovely gift!


If possible, pick up your phone and call the person with whom you’ve had such strife, or even offer to treat them to lunch. Let love and peace take the place of bitterness and unforgiveness. If you cannot meet or speak with them, certainly pray for them, bless them, think of how deeply God loves them, then let the Prince of Peace lovingly remove that chip off your shoulder, and melt the ice in your heart. Allow the love and healing of God to flow into your life, and into your relationships, and let Him bring His lasting peace in place of strife. This truly is what Christmas is all about. 


I pray that the deep love and peace of our Savior fill your heart and home this season - Merry Christmas and God bless you! 

The Word of God has so much to say about relationship and reconciliation. I'd love for you to join me in reading and thinking more about healthy community - click this link to order your copy!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I pray that we are all able to slow down and breathe today, and that we’re able to take some time to truly focus on how many reasons we all have to be thankful. This is easier to do some years than others, as many of you might know at this time. Sometimes being thankful is a battle of the mind and will, but always one worth engaging. 


One bright and encouraging spot in my life these last few years has been a wonderful sweet gum tree, just off to the left from our porch. Squirrels have made it their haven, and last year a particularly feisty mother squirrel had triplets within its canopy. An entire colony of northern bluebirds have used it as a transfer station, not to mention the mockingbirds and crows. Most notably, at the tallest point of the tree, a sturdy branch has provided the perfect perch for a majestic bald eagle and his wife, and the two birds often used this vantage point as a hunting spot. Most mornings, I could look out and see those mighty birds there, and grew to think, “today is going to be a great day. It’s an eagle day.” 


Let me show you a recent picture of my favorite tree…
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​I came home last week and heard a chain saw fire up outside. My husband was in the study, and I called in to him, “I’m sure its not the eagle tree, right?” The study window looks right out to the neighborhood green space where the tree stood, so I knew he could see what was happening. No response.


I looked out the window, and a whole crew of people was working to take down that beautiful tree. It happened so much faster than I could have imagined, and watching it stirred so many emotions. Granted, I am naturally emotional and sensitive anyways, plus this has been a particularly difficult season - but I was surprised by the depth of emotion that the felling of this tree provoked. 


I was so angry and sad, and my thoughts swirled. Who are these people cutting down this wonderful tree? Don’t they know that’s where the eagles sit? There is no tree like it anywhere near, and now they won’t have a place to perch and hunt on this end of the neighborhood. What about the squirrels and the other birds? Who made this decision and why didn’t they say anything to us? What could possibly be so important that this thriving tree had to be taken down? Is this for that electrical project they’ve been gearing up towards - couldn’t they have gone around this tree? There’s plenty of room on every side. You know, it might have been an accident or an oversight - they might have even meant to take a different tree. And this decision was probably made by people in a far-off committee room, who know and care nothing about this tree. They probably just wanted to sign off on this and get to their tee time. Why do we have to put up with such ridiculous, insensitive actions? People just don’t even care…


And I’m just getting started. I was busy doing all kinds of things that needed to be done that day, but my thoughts were a chaotic, angry mess. I was attempting to take hold of my thoughts and make them go in a different direction, half-heartedly at first, and then more seriously the longer this went on. It might feel pretty good to indulge raw emotions for awhile, but there comes a point when you can master them or be doomed for them to master you. I am old enough to know that one unchecked afternoon of angry thoughts can lead to a much longer and messier tangle than anyone wants. Even just reading through the above paragraph of gut response, can you hear where this line of questioning is actually headed? WIth God’s grace, I was finally able to be honest with myself. All of these thoughts and questions really swirl around one question…


What about me?


I have some options - 


The world we live in tells me I should dwell in my anger, and even increase its energy and power by pushing it back towards others. I could lash out at the tree crew and neighborhood improvements committee and energy company, making ugly phone calls and writing angry emails and social media posts with all of my jumbled accusations. I could call the local news outlets and make an issue of the removal of the eagles’ perch, stirring up anger and animosity in others in my community. 


My heart tells me I should indulge in my hurt feelings and trampled rights. No one should be able to do something like that to me, that impacts my life in such a strong way. No one should get away with making what I see as such poor decisions that affect others, without having to pay or answer for it. My heart seeks to convince me that my question, “What about me?”, is a supremely legitimate and important concern. 


Neither of these avenues of action are uncommon. What both the world and my heart are telling me are widely accepted, even expected, responses to a terribly frustrating and disappointing circumstance. 


But on this Thanksgiving, I am compelled to remember our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus, who taught a very different way to handle disappointment and wrong. 


In Luke 13, there is such an interesting passage…
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​Wait, Jesus said this?


Yes. Here is Jesus, the very Word of God, Who was with God in the beginning, and through Whom all things were made. Here is Jesus, fully God and yet also fully man, fully knowing the hearts of people and the absolute brokenness of the world. 


How interesting and thought-provoking is His statement! The two circumstances He refers to, obviously dramatic and real-life episodes from that day, had upset people and caused the familiar blame game we still play today. Whose fault was this? Who deserves reproach and recrimination? Someone must pay…


Jesus is not blind to the fact that terrible, unthinkable, devastating and disappointing things happen. Nor is He under the delusion that any of the rest of us can do anything to fix the world’s brokenness completely. If that were true, He would never have had to leave Heaven and come here to save us. Yes, Someone ultimately must pay, and He was on His way towards the cross even as He uttered these words.


Jesus has a very different perspective on how we ought to respond to bitter disappointment than the world or than my own heart, and any of us would be foolish to listen to either of those things rather than to Him. His advice and remedy is simply for each of us to get our own heart right with God. 


So, the question really is “what about me?”, but from Jesus’ perspective. I have used the example of this tree (which I never should have allowed to hold such power over my well-being anyways). but so many of us are facing really heavy things - terrible loss, bitter betrayal, death, illness, injury, insult, broken trust, slander, and on and on. The difficult circumstances that this broken world and its broken people can find themselves embroiled in are endlessly messy and surprising. What will any of us do with our disappointment? 


The best option we have is to take Jesus’ advice and focus on our own hearts. 


This week provides the perfect starting place - GRATITUDE is a wonderful and life-giving posture for any heart to assume. I have nothing that God has not given to me. One person asked an important question - if I were to begin losing things in my life for which I have neglected to give thanks to God, what would I have left? There is so much to be thankful for, even in the most difficult seasons of life! Life, breath, arms, legs, sight, the people that we love, the sound and feeling of laughter, the taste of chocolate, the touch of a cool breeze on an invigorating morning - the list can go on and on. 


Thankfulness has real power to adjust our own perspective, to help us remember where we stand in the biggest picture, which is fully dependent on God. Gratitude had the power to absorb all of of our anger and frustration, replacing it with love and trust in God. Even with my silly example of a tree, instead of bemoaning its loss, I can give God real and heartfelt thanks for the many wonderful moments it provided for me and for so many others. I can be glad for whomever lives near the new tree that the eagles choose. I can look forward with hope instead of endlessly, fruitlessly looking back with bitterness.  


As you gather together with the people you love, stop and give thanks to God for all of the wonderful gifts He has given. Let Him lift your heavy burdens of anger and disappointment, and instead fill your heart with love, trust, and gratitude in a fresh and new measure. May the Lord bless and keep you, and may your home be filled with His presence! 

In the early 2000s, I remember a friend on the worship team joking with me that one day, the new worship songs we were introducing to the fellowship would be the old songs that the young people would wish the old people didn’t love quite so much. Ha! It happened faster than I realized it would.

One of those songs in particular has made its way back into my heart lately, and I’d love to share it with you. Some of you might remember it, if not, I encourage you to look it up and give it a listen - "Here I am to Worship" by Tim Hughes...

We serve a wonderful, powerful God of grace and mercy! Not only is He the infinite creator of all things, He is also Emmanuel - God here-and-now, intimately present with us. He is tuned into our daily lives, and lavishes us with beautiful gifts to strengthen and sustain our spirits.

Every one us us knows that life can be quite difficult. Though we are continually surprised by them, troubles and trials are the norm, not the exception. It sometimes takes some real effort to look up and away from the negative stories and distractions that threaten to overwhelm us and fill us with despair, but we must make the effort. Once we do, we can become focused on the reality that there is another world of beauty and light all around us: the Kingdom of God is not just coming one day, it is already here, breaking in day by day. And this beauty shining in the darkness is just a foretaste of a glorious eternity with our great God.
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In just the last few weeks, here are some examples I’ve seen with my own eyes:

-a husband, married 62 years, helping the love of his life recover from a surgery. This requires days of round-the-clock care and attentiveness, and then many weeks of rehabilitation and recovery, but he gladly serves his wife and helps her to regain her strength.


-a one year old learning to walk and talk. He joyfully shouts his brother and sister’s names, and learns to be part of the daily fun that they are having. 


-a lost dog wandering into a home, finding love, nourishment, and care. He walked in skin and bones, with all of his hair fallen out, but has regained both his strength and hair, and given much joy in return.


-a man, whose beloved wife of almost 50 years is in the early stages of dementia, attending patiently to her, and sweetly encouraging and helping her to be a welcomed part of the dinner conversation and time of prayer afterwards. 


-a godly couple offering their retirement years to help serve several young families who live some distance from their own parents and need an extra set of grandparents on hand. 


-a woman, knowing that some friends are going through a difficult time, offering daily words of encouragement and hope via text message for several months running.


-a couple giving a generous gift to encourage a young family, following God’s prompting, but having no idea of the perfect timing of the blessing they extended. 


All of these situations are beautiful and life-giving to witness, and have deeply impressed my heart. Each one is powerful because it speaks of strength in weakness, of bright hope in darkness. We all know that the lost dog could have been run over or taken to the pound for elimination. The young couples could have struggled alone and without help, their marriages strained to the breaking point, as happens so often. The enduring marriages and faithful friendships are beautiful and encouraging precisely because they are so rare and precious. The baby learning and thriving is a reminder of the hope and potential so carefully woven into each person by our loving, present God.

​This beautiful world that God made is marked with darkness that sin has made. Aging, sickness, abandonment, lack, pain, suffering, death  - the list of difficult things we all have to deal with throughout life could go on and on. But God does not leave us on our own. His love, hope, and beauty give us strength and courage to face each day. 
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Try to imagine to glory and beauty of Heaven. Perfect, pure, untouched by sin and pride, brilliantly lighted by the majesty and radiance of our Father. For you mountain lovers, imagine the most pristine alpine scene, without the danger and risk of salivating grizzly bears or getting lost or deadly avalanches. Beach lovers, imagine the turquoise waters and white sands without jellyfish or great whites or riptides lurking. City people, imagine a busy, thriving metropolis without poverty or injustice or avarice. Country lovers, imagine your beautiful view without mosquitoes or droughts or poisonous snakes. Just imagine!


Both the enemy of your soul and the very world around you try day and night to convince you that a Good Father and an eternity with Him in a perfect place is just too good to be true. Our faith has been called the opiate of the masses. It has been called pie in the sky. It has been called foolishness - in fact, a very famous song from fifty years ago still tries to convince everyone to imagine that there is no Heaven at all. But try as anyone might to imagine it away, every heart still yearns for Heaven; the place where all wrongs are made right and where life is as is was meant to be.    


The reality is that our good Father saw our plight - the mess that our own sin and pride has caused both individually and collectively - and did not leave us on our own. Jesus willingly left all the glory and majesty and perfection of Heaven, and came here to save us. We will never fully understand how much it cost for Him to do so. Thankfully, all we must do is receive His help. 
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​Ask God to open your eyes this week, to see the glimpses of His beauty and truth all around you, even in the midst of disappointing and unsettling circumstances. You are not alone or forgotten - God sees you and loves you with an everlasting love. May His goodness and mercy fill your heart and life today, and may His presence strengthen you in your innermost being. 

Thank you so much to those of you who have purchased the new book!

​It is such a great time for every Christian to engage in the discussion of healthy community, so that we can shine brightly to our family and neighbors.
​ Click below to order your copy today...

Happy end-of-summer to you! I am writing to you from the epicenter of what everyone has decided to call a heat dome this year. It has been hot in Texas this summer - really hot - but we made it through! It is actually quite funny to witness the aftermath. Most of our area got a glorious rain shower earlier this week, breaking that oppressive heat pattern, and now everyone is smiling, everywhere you go. The positive and optimistic people are relieved and whistling, and even the perennially grumpy people are just a little less grumpy because it is only a normal 97 degrees instead of 107. 

There is something so powerful about HOPE.
​When we keep it close, we are filled with God's peace and power.
​When we lose sight of it, we are severely weakened. 

Our anger and anxiety are also spiritual in nature, as we are influenced by the lack of faith all around us. No one can long stand with one foot on the dock and one foot on the untethered boat; this amounts to having a form of godliness, but denying its power. But too many Christians are letting the skepticism and cynicism of the world around them inform their decisions and actions. I have noticed so many people say things that begin with, “I know what the Bible says, but…”, and then fill in the blank with a reason they cannot possibly really believe or act on what the Bible says.

I know what the Bible says, but…

-I will not forgive him for what he did.

-I cannot believe that God is my provider.

-If God was really good, ______ would not be happening.

​and so on. Too many Christians have mistakenly gone with the flow of our culture, trying to put hope and faith in things that could never bear it - people, places, and things - and then fall off the dock when the inevitable let down comes. Too many Christians have believed the lie that because those people and things can't be trusted, nothing at all can be trusted. The whole point of our faith is that there is ONLY ONE Who can be trusted to never leave, forsake, or fail.

If you’d like to spend some more time reading and thinking about the power of hope in our Christian communities, please check out my new book, available now -