Gideon had quite a few push-backs when he received God’s call through the angel. Maybe we can relate.

Christians have been arguing about Communion and other things since Jesus walked the earth. But he still entrusts us with his work.

Jesus talked about money and vineyards, but his point was larger than finances and grape-growing.

When we see how miserably the Pharisees understood the Scriptures they had studied, we pause to reconsider whenever we think we have it all figured out.

I don’t know how many people heard it. I don’t know if it helped anyone who did hear it. What I do know is that singing it over and over for some 40 years continues to increase my confidence in God’s love.

Again and again, Jesus teaches us not to give up, to trust God’s timing, and to keep on praying.

The sting in Jesus’ parable was for the spiritually proud who heard him then—and now.

None of us has the promise of old age. But if we live to enjoy it, God will still need us to spread kingdom influence.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made a point that may help us understand his answer to the man who asked if few would enter the kingdom. According to Jesus, the wide gate is easier to navigate.

We tend to celebrate when whomever we designate as the “good” side wins a victory.

It is one thing to support the leader and his or her decisions. It is a completely different thing when you are the one leading.

The challenge of Jesus speaks to the pressures of the age: “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”  

The history of people of faith over the centuries has demonstrated that the instructions we’ve received are not that hard to understand. Our trouble is with implementation!

The truth is, we don’t do a particularly good job with the things God has already revealed, so giving us more would probably not make things any better for anyone.

We just celebrated the biggest victory in human history, the resurrection of Jesus. So why talk of difficulties, obstacles, and enemies?

They remind us of our actions and behavior toward the sin of others, the promise of eternal life, our relationships with family, our loneliness in times of struggle, our thirst for God, the reality of what we can and can’t do, and our complete surrender.

When you read any or all of the four Gospels, you quickly see that the disciples were having their own trouble keeping up with all the amazing things they were seeing and experiencing with Jesus. We can relate.

There is no holding back for later when it comes to our discipleship. When it comes to following Jesus, we are called daily to give ourselves away to Jesus as well as to his visible body in the world today, the church.

Why did Jesus make such an astonishing statement? And how was it a preview of the marvelous gift he is to us?

Pursued by enemies intent on his destruction, David hid—and he turned to God.