There is an ancient Israelite and Jewish holiday called Yom Kippur, or the “Day of Atonement.” Back when the temple still existed, the priest sacrificed one goat on an altar and sent a second goat into the wilderness. The second goat has always fascinated me. According to the Torah, the high priest was commanded to […]
In Japanese culture there is a type of pottery art called kintsugi that deals with broken items such as clay pots, vases, and bowls. When a bowl or pot breaks, kintsugi artists put it back together using a lacquer mixed with either gold, silver, or platinum. When the pot is put back together, the gold, […]
I recently read the story in Mark, Chapter One about the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River under the ministry of His cousin, John the Baptist. Of course Jesus didn’t need to be baptized. He was clean. Without sin. He was God. He was beautiful. But instead of standing to one side and telling […]
The New Normal Over the past two years plus we have been fighting a pandemic. During that time no matter who you met or what you were doing it seems that the conversation always turned to the pandemic, mandates connected to Covid, and how it has changed your life. “Pandemic” became one of the most […]
Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa said, “There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that’s less than the one you are capable of living.” I know so many believers who are living far below their potential simply because they are not willing to step out […]
Unconditional love – the God-kind of love (agapé) is the greatest gift we can give another person. It allows someone to feel secure, be vulnerable, sense their worth, and discover who they really are. Most of us first experience this love when we are born again and the love of God is poured out into […]
There are consequences to every change we experience in life. Two years ago life changed forever when the world became engulfed in battling Covid-19. A worldwide pandemic. Recently, due to a war Russia started by invading Ukraine, we hear less about the pandemic but it is still seriously impacting our world even though the numbers […]
We have been looking at how one thing leads to another. How the Covid pandemic has released or at least brought to our attention other “pandemics” that we need to be aware of. More than that, as believers we are called to deal with them and in the process offer people hope. Last time we […]
Over the past two years plus we have been fighting a pandemic. During that time no matter who you met or what you were doing it seems that the conversation always turned to the pandemic, mandates connected to Covid, and how it had changed your life. “Pandemic” became one of the most common terms in […]
You hear it said often from many different people and places. People are looking forward to getting back to normal. As Covid supposedly is coming to an end in a lot of nations people are hoping that things will return to normal – in other words, as they were before Covid. Of course, now we […]