These were the religious leaders of their day, but they couldn’t see the truth standing before them. Could it be that I sometimes miss something crucial, too?

Some remember long talks with their father. Other fathers were distant with few words. Scripture reminds fathers of their spiritual responsibility to their children.

As I think today about these questions in Matthew, I wonder if sometimes we read past some questions Jesus asked for the same reason the Pharisees did. We don’t want to think or act differently.

I hear the children praising him and see the religious leaders opposing him, and I stop to wonder, Which group am I more like?

Find common ground, show love, be persistent. We see all of this in Paul; we need all of this today.

Amid international outrage over an unjust war, Christians everywhere are praying. Many readers of this blog are joining them, bolstered in their faith by the daily devotions they’ve found here. You may want to read one of them a second time, or share it with a friend.

Christians in America may encounter pushback to their faith. But we have not experienced persecution like that known by millions worldwide.

I’ve been in all kinds of storms, some of them more difficult than the first hurricane I experienced. Today’s story and psalm remind me how to get through them.

We don’t always want to hear what Jesus is saying. We don’t always want to go where he is leading. To make sure we’re really following, we must pursue a simple strategy.

If they weren’t ready to feed the hungry crowd, at least they should have anticipated how Jesus would do it. But he came through for them, in spite of their shortsightedness. Just as he does today.

The fountain of life in St. Augustine proved to be little more than a tourist trap. But the living water Jesus offers is real.