Send us a text Write Down Your Vision “Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets… For there is still a vision for the appointed time.” -from Habakkuk 2:2-3 When things are hard, when things have been hard, when there’s no sign of things getting easier, the most important thing we can hold onto is a vision for ourselves and our futures. A vision is more than a fleeting passing thought. A vision is more than a day dream. A vision is more th...

Send us a text True Worship Happens Outside Of Church The writer of Isaiah 1 gave the readers the ancient world equivalent of ‘get out of here with that noise’. “When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more! Bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and calling of convocation-- I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; t...

Send us a text When Salvation Comes “Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house…” - from Luke 19:9 When salvation comes, it can look different for all of us but it feels just as good. The Greek word translated as salvation (Sōtēria) also means, rescued, healed, made whole, kept safe, preserved, delivered, and liberated. Zacchaeus’s salvation looks different from the paralytic’s, which looks different for an enslaved person or a hungry person, which looks which...

Send us a text God Always Welcomes And Invites “All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner."- Luke 19:7 I do not know the first century slang equivalent for the phrase Uncle Tom. But in the eyes of the crowd, Zacchaeus was the worst kind of scum. He lived fat and happy collecting taxes for their Roman oppressors while so many of them struggled to pay the bill. Most of us have certain sins, certain behaviors that we dis...

Send us a text Separate And Climb “So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.” -Luke 19:4 There wasn’t anything necessarily wrong with the crowd Zacchaeus was in. They were all there to try and see Jesus. Perhaps some wanted to hear his wisdom and insight. Perhaps others needed his healing. Maybe others were hoping he’d bring liberation from Rome. Most were simply curious. No, there was nothing wrong with the crowd. But Zacchaeus...

Send us a text Let’s Stop Blocking The View “He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.” - Luke 19:3 Zacchaeus being a tax collector, was no doubt a less than popular figure. Even so, it does not appear that that the crowd had any particular ill will or ill intent here. They were just trying to see Jesus themselves. In the process they ended up blocking Zacchaeus. How many times do we would be followers of Jesus e...

Send us a text Time To Stop Assuming The Worst About Folks “Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." - Luke 19:8 Zacchaeus was a tax collector in league with the occupying Roman army. This was not cool in the eyes of most citizens of Jerusalem. Zacchaeus was also very rich. Many tax collectors got rich from cheating people out of extra tax...

Send us a text How To Move From Strength To Strength “My soul longs, indeed it faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” - Psalm 84:2 Some of us are worn down and worn out. We are tired, and we are exhausted. We are disappointed. We are discouraged. We feel about ready to give in and give up. It feels like our souls are about to faint. The writer of Psalm 84 knew exactly how we felt and gives us three pieces of advice: ...

Send us a text Give From Love And Gratitude Not Greed Here’s a passage probably not many of us are familiar with: “Give to the Most High as he has given to you and as generously as you can afford. For the Lord is the one who repays, and he will repay you sevenfold. Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it, and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice, for the Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality.” - Sirach 35:12-15 The meaning here is similar to Luke 6:39 ...

Send us a text When We Are Overwhelmed By Evil “When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions.” - Psalm 65:3 Many of us know that it is better to forgive. We know it’s better to let go of our anger and bitterness instead of holding onto them. But we are overwhelmed with our pain and can’t yet seem to let go. Many of us know that we are not in the right places, doing the right things, with the right people. But we feel stuck, maybe even trapped. It’s what we know an...

Send us a text Trust That Our Blessing Are Coming “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.” - Deuteronomy 28:2 Why does the world today look the way it looks? Why do we treat each other the way we do? Why do we fail so often to practice kindness and compassion? Why are we stingy with our neighbors instead of practicing generosity and hospitality? I’m convinced that we treat each other poorly not...

Send us a text Trust That God Is For Everyone “Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days I will pour out my spirit.” - Joel 2:28-29 God is pouring out God’s spirit on all flesh. And all means all. Regardless of our nationality, ethnicity, or race, regardless of our being young or old, regardless of our so...

Send us a text Trust In God’s Deliverance “I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army that I sent against you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. “ - Joel 2:25-26 Some of us have suffered for a long time. Some of us have endured hardship for a long time. Some of us have h...

Send us a text Trust In God’s Abundance “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.” - Joel 2:24 I’m convinced that our lack of hospitality, our lack of generosity, our envy, jealousy are rooted in fear. Specifically we fear scarcity. We fear that’s there is not enough of whatever it is to go around. We fear that we will be left out. A life of faith requires us to set aside these fears and trust In God’s goodness and provision. It...

Send us a text What’s Going On? How Can We Help? As part of my service on the Mennonite Mission Network Board of Directors, I recently had the opportunity to visit a community on the US southern border. We wanted to better understand what’s going on and how we and other people of good will can help. I’m convinced that the answers we get depend on the questions we ask. In seeing the U.S.’s current response, there’s no doubt in my mind a primary question U.S. policy makers...

Send us a text God’s Love Is Forever. How About Ours? “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations.” -Psalm 100:5 In the first story, found in the first chapter, of the first book of the Bible it says that God created humanity, male and female in the image of God. In the image of God, God created us. Our lives well lived should be reflections of God. In the second story, found in the second chapter of the first book of the...

Send us a text We Find What We Look For. Focus On The Positive “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” - Philippians 4:8 We don’t have to look around ourselves too far to find examples of unfairness, injustice, and inequality. There are many dangers in the world. We want to...

Send us a text Prayer Helps Us Be Ok When It’s Not Ok “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:7-8 Our praying to God doesn’t mean that everything is going to work out the way we’d like it too. In the case of the Apostle Paul who wrote these words, he had been shipwr...

Send us a text Acceptance Is More Than Tolerance “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters” - Romans 14:1 In a pluralistic, multicultural, group as the early Jesus movement was, disagreements and disputes were inevitable. They may have agreed that they were all called to love God and their neighbor, but they were never going to agree on what love looks like when put into practice. For Paul, the first principle is mutual acceptance. We may beli...

Send us a text “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.” - Psalm 100:3 We are God’s people, not some of us, but all of us. The challenge that many of us have is that we like to think of ourselves and maybe our family and friends, and maybe people who think and believe like us as God’s people. Then we want to exclude those folks over there from being among God’s people. All the sheep to God. Sheep that sta...