Categories
Devotional Reflection

More Than Necessary

“You are so much more than necessary…. you.are.loved.”  I heard M. Craig Barnes say this at a Young Life Staff conference many, many years ago, sometime around 1998, the first time I had burned myself out in ministry. There is something about being in a service industry that makes high capacity people move toward any […]

Categories
Devotional Reflection

A 2021 Christmastide Reflection

The ongoing pandemic has many of us on the verge of going nuts.  We are either frustrated because we think people are overdoing it, or because we think that people aren’t doing enough.  Either way, we are keeping at least a low grade of inner frustration burning at all times it seems.  For some, this […]

Categories
Devotional Reflection

Advent and the Church Calendar: the Gentle Rhythms of the Household of God

I am always telling my kids that repetition is the key to honing their skills in soccer or other sports.  Repetition works it into muscle memory: the technique, the situational awareness, the ability to receive and deliver the ball expediently.  Almost everything works this way.  I have told them their whole lives that if they […]

Categories
Devotional Reflection

Creating Space for God in Lenten Observance

I by no means want to interfere with your lenten plans for giving something up.  That is the very least we can do for lenten observance, and it is an important method for teaching our children how to fast as an important spiritual discipline in a culture of constant pleasure seeking and feasting.  However, I’d […]

Categories
Devotional Reflection

Christian Generosity and Bearing the Family Likeness of the Household of God

One of the greatest ways in which we reflect the glory of God is in Christian generosity.  When we are generous like our Father in heaven has been generous, the reward we ought to be looking for is not “when you give you will receive more,” although this is often true.  No, the reward is […]