Category: Uncategorized
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Something New
(2-minute read) I’ve been trying to study to understand the crowd’s beliefs as Jesus spoke. Often, he put together what they already knew in a simple way that gave them a greater understanding. But he also taught something they found fresh and new. He spoke of the Kingdom of God. Jesus spoke to crowds about…
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View From the Tree
(2-minute read) It started out as a matter of curiosity. The reaction of the people to Jesus’s sermon on the mount seems different from what I expected, and I wanted to know why. What I discovered surprised me and has changed my life. Jesus was on the earth at a unique time in Jewish history.…
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My Shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd. When I wander away to an unsafe place, he misses me and comes to find me. At first, I thought I was holding his hand, but as he carried me down from the dangerous rocks, I realized he was holding mine. He hears the noise in my stomach as we…
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Become One of Us
(2-minute read) I learned many years ago that my identity, what I think of myself, significantly affects my life, whether I succeed or fail at what I’m trying to do. When I identify with a condition, thought, or organization, it subconsciously influences me. Recently, I’ve been struggling with a health issue and realized that the…
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Snakes In My Brain
(2-minute read) One morning, my wife stepped into our bedroom closet, turned on the light, and saw a snake on the floor. I was out of town, but she heard voices at the back of our house and ran for help. They got the snake and took it away. A week or two later, I…
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Quiet Please, I’m Trying to Love My Enemies
(3-minute read) Every major religion has some form of “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This wasn’t a big problem because all I had to do was define who my neighbor was. I could get this down to a tiny number. But when I read the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” Bummer!…
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Simple Stories
When I first started studying scripture, I noticed that Jesus used simple stories to illustrate what he was trying to say. These stories had their own simple logic that was easy to follow for anyone. For instance, he told of a shepherd who owned 100 sheep, and one wandered off. The shepherd left the 99…
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Unexpected Kindness
(One-minute read) As old as I am, I’m surprised I still find amazing things about the Lord that I’d never noticed. For instance, every major religion has some form of “love for your neighbor as yourself.” How they interpret that meaning varies greatly between religions and even within those religions. In Judaism, during the 1st…
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Stay
(3-minute read) A week ago, our son, Stephen, asked if we would keep his dog, Luna, while he moved to a new apartment. He did an interesting thing. When he dropped off Luna, as he was leaving amongst all of the “be a good girl” comments, he said in a commanding voice, “STAY.” When he…
Walking the path 