Why does it seem so difficult to experience the kind of unity that Jesus prayed for in the garden? His words are still ringing out today… “I pray that they may all be one. “Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” John 17:21 GNT. The Church doesn’t need a re…

“Love God and love people” is a common mantra proclaimed in modern church culture. But when you tell religious people to love God they often don’t get on to loving people. In fact, history has proven that people claim to love God while hurting others. When violent acts against other people are justified under the banner of “loving god” you have rev…

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are well-known tenets of the American dream. But they remain a dream for many because humanity’s efforts can never guarantee them. Happiness is a chase. Joy is a choice. This is why God chose to become one of us and rescue all of us. You were the reason Jesus joyfully endured the cross. Only Jesus can mak…

When one kingdom invades another the result is violence, pain, and death. Eventually, there comes a pseudo calm that is labeled as peace and lasts only as long as the dominant force can control things. But this is never true peace because Peace is a person and His name is Jesus. Advent is the story of a Kingdom invasion. The irony of Advent is that…

"Advent comes, relentlessly and throughout life, with its words of hope and faith - shepherds and magi, crib and star, Emmanuel and glory - and stirs our hearts to pinnacles of possibility one more time...The real Christmas gift, for which Advent is the process, is learning to hum hope, learning to dance the divine." Joan ChittisterWhere have you a…

Being thankful isn’t just a response to the good things that happen in life. It’s a reorienting of your mindset so you can gracefully endure the difficult things. Grumbling and complaining are the status quo of our culture and it’s so easy to go with the flow of negativity. But gratitude is a grace that you can tap into regardless of what your circ…

One of our modern-day prophets, Don Henley, profoundly sang the lyrics, “I think it's about forgiveness." And I think he's right. Jesus was all about forgiveness. His forgiveness was tied to our healing in every way. As followers of Jesus, we must be forgivers. But why is it so hard sometimes? Especially when serious abuse or assault is involved. J…