There is a very old lie.  It goes all the way back to the beginning.  It is a lie that says God can’t be trusted.  God is holding out on me.  God wants to control me and keep me from being happy.  My life will be better and brighter if

What does it mean to be an American? If someone said, “I ran into an American today” how would you know what they mean?  What would you know about this person they met based on this description?  Would it tell you anything? I would argue that “American” wouldn’t tell you

Most things are awkward at the start.  Prayer is no different.  You were made for prayer, for your life to become prayer, but in almost all of us, those muscle are atrophied. Prayer is not any sort of practice of thinking – positive or negative.  Prayer is relating.  Relating to

I wrote this paraphrase of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) for use in our small group Bible studies. I hope it can be a blessing in your life and ministry. God, you are our maker and King and we give all that we are to you. May we never take

Do you ever wonder who you are and what your purpose in life is?  I hope so.  It would be a tragedy if you didn’t.  As far as we can tell, to wonder about who you are and your purpose in life is a distinctly human ability.  Unlike all other

[I’ve only done this once before, but below what you will find is not my own work, but the shared insights from a woman named Kayla Iuliano. She shared her insights at a Catholic blog my wife reads. You can find the original HERE, but a bonus at the end

I want to tell you something about God that is far better than what many people know.  Unfortunately, to do that I need to tell you something dark about humanity. Human history is full of examples of people using all of the creativity and empathy God has given us for

“Sinner.”  It’s a word commonly heard with judgment, condemnation, and rejection.  We misunderstand it; maybe church people most of all. When we understand who God is and how God uses it, it is still a painful description of us, but it is also loving, true, and hopeful.  Imagine that there

The Bible is absolutely amazing!  There is nothing else like it. But it’s not for the reasons I was taught when I was younger.  It is so much better than that. The general impression I got from my early years about the significance of the Bible was that it was

We once thought that Christianity was brought by colonialism to the people of Africa.  That idea brings conflicting feelings for Christians.  It is wonderful when more people find that Jesus is the savior of their soul – their entire person – but it is an abomination for Christianity to be