A little over eight years ago, when we were living in Alabama, we were getting ready to make a trip to Searcy to see our son and his family. The morning of the day we were leaving, our credit card company texted me saying that our card had been compromised. That’s never good news to hear but especially on a travel day. Still, we had a back-up (debit) card, so off we went.

The highest mountain in Israel is Mount Hermon. It has majestic, snowcapped peaks with an elevation exceeding 9,000 feet. Its Arabic name means "snowy mountain." It has a ski resort which attracts around 300,00 visitors each winter.

It is mentioned over a dozen times in the Old Testament. Some scholars believe Mount Hermon was the site of Jesus’ transfiguration, though none of the Gospel accounts names the place.

What is it about our sins that hurts God so?  Or, what is it that he finds so repulsive in our sins?  A traditional answer I’ve heard is that God is a moral God, and our sins demonstrate our immoral selves, and this immorality is what God finds so repugnant.  There is truth in that idea, but at times that idea can be carried too far.  If we’re not careful, we can come up with an idea that God finds our sin so repugnant, that he can’t even bear to look at it (or us), or tolerate it (or us).  We think God can’t stand to be around us because of our sins.  Perhaps the worst part of this idea is that God is so offended by our sins that he’s not going to come near us until we clean ourselves up first.  It’s as if we cannot come near to God without first taking care of our condition (as if we could do something on our own to take care of our condition, but that’s a topic to discuss another day…)  That idea is not completely truthful.  If that were so, how would Jesus have been able to walk around a world consumed by sin?  How is it that in the Garden of Eden, God came looking for Adam?  Adam attempted to cover his shame, but that was not enough, so when he heard God, he hid.  Jesus tells a parable of a shepherd looking for his lost sheep – the sheep doesn’t have to absolve itself of its sin before the shepherd can stand to have the sheep in his presence.

Not too long ago I rewatched Band of Brothers—it’s the WW2 series based on the book by Stephen Ambrose and created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks—not long after they worked together on Saving Private Ryan. The series focuses on Easy Company, a parachute infantry regiment that is attached to the 101^st Airborne Division.

The woman with no name. She moves through the Gospels like William Wadsworth’s “Phantom of Delight” revealing aspects of Jesus’ personality and emphasizing certain  teachings.  An unnamed woman interacted with Jesus in some way at least eight times.   It’s time each had a name. I purpose the following based on the Christian characteristic they each represent.

In late August of 2024, the Surgeon General declared that parenting could be hazardous to your health. You read that right. Parenting is now in the same category as smoking, alcohol, and other forms of drug abuse.

When our children were growing up, there was an event that each of them looked forward to. The day they finally were taller than “little” grandma. My wife’s mother stood all of 4’ 10” tall and was very good natured about this rite of passage that each of her grandchildren anticipated. It was a joyous day in their life when they could finally lay claim to this milestone. Today, our own grandchildren are eager to see how much they have grown as they stand back-to-back with their Nana to see if they have surpassed her height of 5’ 2” on their own quest to being all grown up.

My father wasn’t given to melodrama, but he thought deeply about great truths and didn’t hesitate to share with me after he’d ruminated on them for a while. We talked about a lot of things one might not think to discuss with a child. One night he remarked, “Some day, if the world goes on, I’ll no longer be here, and if the world goes on even longer, there’ll come a time when no one remembers that I ever was.”  That particular moment is frozen in my memory—perhaps because, to a child, any thought of a parent’s death is startling, and perhaps because Dad said it so matter-of-factly. He was examining the inevitability of his own end and his relative place in the larger arc of history in a way that could send a certain sort of person headlong into existential despair.

Ray’s aunt lived on the other side of the bay in Mobile. She was elderly, not in the greatest of health, and he hadn’t heard from her in a few days (and neither had her friends). Looking back on it, I suppose he must have had a fairly strong hunch that something was wrong because he asked another person (who in turn asked me) to come along. You don’t do that if you expect to find your aunt sitting in her rocking chair with the television up so loud she can’t hear her phone.

In​ ​Genesis​ ​1:27,​ ​we​ ​read​ ​that​ ​God​ ​created​ ​humans​ ​male​ ​and​ ​female. n​ ​the​ ​next​ ​chapter,​ ​in​Genesis​ ​2:24,​ ​we​ ​read​ ​that​ ​men​ ​and​ ​women​ ​are​ ​to​ ​be​ ​united​ ​and​ ​become​ ​one​ ​flesh.​ ​​ ​These​ ​two​ ​passages​ ​are​ ​from​ ​different​ ​episodes​ ​of​ ​the​ ​creation​ ​account​ ​in​ ​early​ ​Genesis,​ ​but​ ​Jesus​ ​connects​ ​them​ ​in​ ​Matthew​ ​19:4-6.​ ​​ ​He​ ​is​ ​saying​ ​that​ ​they​ ​were​ ​made​ ​male​ ​and​ ​female,​ ​because​ ​it​ ​was​ ​as​ ​male​ ​and​ ​female​ ​they​ ​were​ ​to​ ​become​ ​one​ ​flesh.​ ​​ ​As​ ​male​ ​and​ ​female,​ ​they​ ​were​ ​to​ ​become​ ​united​ ​and​ ​become​ ​one.​ ​​ ​Jesus​ ​even​ ​says​ ​that​ ​it​ ​is​ ​God​ ​who​ ​is joining​ ​them​ ​together.​ ​​ ​Now​ ​-​ ​hold​ ​that​ ​idea​ ​in​ ​the​ ​back​ ​of​ ​your​ ​head​ ​a​ ​moment​ ​while​ ​we​ ​change​ ​lanes.

It is easy to live the extraordinary. Christmas Day with its joy and cheer. New Year’s Eve with its Aud Lang Syne.

But then there’s the ordinary. How do we find the magic when your mountain peaks give way to valleys, when your “Ho Ho Ho” bleeds into a “Ho-hum” kind of life?

The answer just may be in this: finding what is extraordinary in the ordinary.

Centuries ago, a group of God’s people gathered together to talk. The story I’m referring to is recorded in Malachi 3:16. “Then the people who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard what they said.”

When Gabriel told Mary that she would be with child and then explained how it would happen, from Mary’s perspective, this put her at great risk. We discussed this in last week’s article.

But even though her betrothal, her social status, and even her life were at risk, she has an amazing response which is all summed up in the first word she says: “Behold.” (The full statement is “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38). But that first word, ‘Behold’ was a powerful statement. We may not think much of it. We may see it as a way of saying ‘Ok’ or ‘Look.’ But it is so much more when we look at the original language and context of this word.

This time of year we often recall the story of the angel Gabriel telling Mary about how she would be with child and that baby would be the Son of God and how what a wonderous event that probably had angels singing and lights from heaven and birds and animals are dancing like in an old Disney cartoon. This is the moment where God has chosen Mary to be the mother to the Savior. And Mary’s response is just a question about how can this be and then the humble response of ‘Let it be’. But I don’t think that this was the Christmas song moment that we usually think about. What God was asking Mary to do was not something that she would have posted all over social media. Having children was and is a huge blessing, but that was probably not the calling that she wanted. Because God’s calling for her actually put her at risk.

It was a gloriously transcendent spring morning. I know that sounds like I’m overstating the matter but trust me I’m not. For some time it had been overcast, cool, and dreary, but the sudden appearance of blue sky and warm sun seemed to have instantly turned everything into a shade of green that would have been the envy of Eden. We’ve all witnessed this before, one day the landscape is full of dark, dull earth tones and the next day it is not only green—but it appears so bright you could swear there was something luminescent in the new grass and baby leaves. That’s the kind of morning it was, and it was full of wonder.

It arrived at our door as the sun was setting the night before the surgery, presented from the hands of a quiet woman who, along with others, had participated in its creation. Pieced from contrasting, yet harmonious fabrics, it is quilted to be warm and sturdy. Spaced over the body of the throw are short lengths of embroidery thread, tied with knots. It's bound at the edges, and on the sage-colored center piece, embroidered in a pleasing script:

For I am the Lord your God

who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,

“Do not fear. I will help you.”

Isaiah 41:13

I was listening to some music from my teenage years, and the following line from a song came up – “the good book says it’s better to give than to receive.”  I was thinking I’d quickly find this in the Sermon on the Mount.  It’s not there!  The saying is actually found in Acts 20:35, and is attributed to Jesus.  The following are some musings I had as I thought about this saying.

This article is for parents of young children. One of my children, who will remain unnamed, was what we often refer to as a strong-willed child. When this child learned to crawl he developed an attraction to electrical receptacles, which were on his eye-level as he crawled around our home. Knowing the danger of these shiny beige devices, we wanted to instill a fear of them in this little man. The danger of electrical receptacles was engrained in my wife’s mind due to the fact that her childhood best friend had deforming scars around her mouth due to biting into an electrical cord. Therefore, as the head of the house, I took it on myself to instill the proper respect, even fear, of electric receptacles in this strong-willed child.

Our three grandsons were watching a water polo match on television during last summer’s Olympic Games. The players were jostling for position, splashing up a storm, all while trying to either throw a ball into the net or prevent the other team from doing so. The boys thought it looked like a great time.

This past July, my wife and I had the privilege of traveling to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to encourage the missionary work of Julie Broyles. It was an amazing trip. We hope we gave encouragement as much as we were encouraged. We saw some amazing sights. Angkor Wat, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is truly a wonder of the medieval world. Eating in a restaurant where everyone sits on top of the tables has its charm. And you’ve not fully lived until you’ve ridden on the back of a motorbike, in the rain, and crossed five lanes of oncoming traffic.   

There is a series of books by Douglas Adams called “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”  As they are offbeat and quirky and humorous, they appeal to me.  In one of those books is something called the Total Perspective Vortex.  It is used as an execution device.  The following are some descriptions of it.  It is the most savage psychotic torture a sentient being can undergo.  You can kill a man, destroy his body, break his spirit, but only the Total Perspective Vortex can annihilate a man’s soul!  The treatment lasts seconds, but the effects last the rest of your life!  As a sentenced man walks to his execution by means of the Vortex, they play recordings of the screams of the last victim, as a way to get the next victim ready.  The scream is described as someone having their soul burned from their body.