Today in our worship service, we sang The Way, by Pat Barrett. There is a line that is repeated throughout the song: I believe you are the way, the truth, the life. And as I was singing, quite passionately, I might add, I felt the Lord ask, “Do you?” I stopped singing, and stood, eyes closed, listening to my heart. Don’t I? I would say, “Yes, Lord, I do believe You are truth and life for me, and You are the only way.” “Then why,” He said, “do you sometimes look for a way forward by considering your options and reasoning by intellect and experience?” I don’t know about you,…

The journey of life on planet Earth is fraught with danger, and this reality is the backdrop, the context, of my relationship with Christ. My father always said, “You don’t know what a day will bring.” And this is true. I don’t know. The overriding truth: God knows – God sees – God cares. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (NASB) Why is it that the truth of God’s word doesn’t always define my emotions? It’s so tempting to fret and worry about what I don’t know and to try and…

I recently had an opportunity to be with a rich and varied community of believers who represented churches and faith communities from many different areas in the U.S. and abroad. I was struck, anew, by the beauty of that glorious creation of God: His church, the body of Christ. To belong to something so much larger and beyond myself is simultaneously awe inspiring, comforting, and provoking. In Philippians 3:12, Paul says, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” (NKJV) I am reminded, of course, that He “laid hold” of me…

I’ve been fortunate and blessed to have many dear friends in my life. I trust that you have, as well. Friendship is a rich and many faceted relationship, and mysteriously it is also one without rules. What primarily marks a good friendship is the shared willingness each one has to prefer and defer to the other’s interests, needs, and desires. In it’s truest form, it speaks of the heart of God, who is entirely faithful and trustworthy. It is a relationship that evidences the selfless love of God. I had a friend once show up on my doorstep with 3 bags of groceries and a pair of stockings. At the…