The Beauty of Restoration

My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)—Colossians 4:10 (NIV)

In Acts 13, we meet John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, Paul’s friend and partner in spreading the gospel. But our first impression of Mark isn’t a good one.

From Paphos, Paul and (more…)

Stealing, Killing and Destroying

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.—John 10:10 (NIV)

Two weeks after we moved into our current house, we came home to find someone had been inside while we had been at church. The door was still locked. No windows were broken. No valuables, some (more…)

Moving at the Speed of Life

What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.—James 4:14 ESV

I was 14 when I first experienced the death of someone in my circle. It was a 16-year-old tuba player in our high school band—a boy who had delivered our newspapers and on whom I had a serious crush. Just a few (more…)

The Road to Death

There is a way that appears to be right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.—Proverbs 14:12

Every now and then, you hear news reports about people who have been killed in head-on crashes because they drive into oncoming traffic. Sometimes people are impaired. Other times, they don’t realize they’ve gone the wrong way until it’s too late. (more…)

Rise Up and Walk

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”—John 5:8

If you’re anything like me, getting up in the morning can be a challenge. Maybe you sleep hard, and it takes the banging of metal trash can lids to get you going. Or maybe you—like me—struggle with insomnia. But most of us are able to get up out of bed (more…)