Category Archives: Spiritual Nuggets

Faith for Every Moment Sometimes it’s tempting to imagine ourselves as the hero of a dramatic scene where we’re called upon to give an account of our faith. But in real life, every action and every moment of our lives … Continue reading →

I Loved You; I Love You Now “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1). This line is beautiful if read alone, but it is sad when read in context: … Continue reading →

Utopian Truth for Today Wealth often tempts us to materialism, as our possessions make us feel secure, valued, and comfortable. But sometimes the lack of these assets allows this temptation to exert even more power over us, driving us to … Continue reading →

The Discomfort of Scripture Most of the Western world operates in the spirit of individualism. Christianity does not, though we often attempt to adapt it and make it more comfortable. It’s much easier to think about “God’s role in my … Continue reading →

Only the Very Beginning Beginnings are exciting. The freshness of a new project or a new relationship sharpens our senses. When that novelty diminishes, though, it’s difficult to maintain the same level of excitement. Acts 2 is all about beginnings. … Continue reading →

An Unusual Portrait “At the beginning when Yahweh spoke through Hosea, Yahweh said to Hosea, ‘Go, take for yourself a wife and children of whoredom, because the land commits great whoredom forsaking Yahweh.’ So he went and took Gomer daughter … Continue reading →

Walking With Jesus Imagine encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus. It would be a surreal experience. You’re walking to the next town, and you start a conversation with a man beside you, only to find out later that you’ve … Continue reading →

Dawning of a New Era Jesus’ resurrection brings a new era. Although Jesus told His disciples and loved ones that He would suffer, die, and be raised on the third day (Luke 9:22), they didn’t fully comprehend His promise. The … Continue reading →

Becoming a Saved People For Luke, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s message. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, according to Luke, Jesus opened the Isaiah scroll in a synagogue and proclaimed that the words in Isaiah 61 … Continue reading →

Meaningless Maxims “Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay” (Job 13:12). There were bits of truth in the words spoken by Jobs’ friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Between their blundering interpretations were words that expressed … Continue reading →

My Momma Done Tol’ Me I went through a phase when I was obsessed with the blues. Something about the soul was at work in the music—a genre created late at night while reflecting on hard times. The music was … Continue reading →

Lives of Spiritual Opulence The Pharisees upheld a faulty religious system. They were supposed to be the Jews’ spiritual leaders, but they were more interested in making themselves the religious elite. They loved “greetings in the marketplace and the best … Continue reading →

Riddle Me This Jesus’ enemies regularly attempted to make Him look foolish or to disprove His authority. The absurd questions they concocted to discredit Him are rather amusing. The Sadducees posed one of the most preposterous questions about the resurrection … Continue reading →

Who Is Trustworthy? We might get sidetracked when reading the Parable of the Ten Minas. Businessmen aren’t sympathetic characters in our modern world. In movies and sometimes in life, they’re often flat, miserly characters who take advantage of naïve individuals … Continue reading →

God the Innovator Innovators often say they learn more from their failures than their successes. The successes come as a result of repeated failures, whether in business or in life. We must learn from our mistakes if we are to … Continue reading →

Complaints Complaining can be automatic. We complain about the weather, our children, our jobs. And we might do it for any number of reasons—even something as trivial as to keep a conversation going. Although we might complain lightly, we still … Continue reading →

Transitions Life is marked by seasons—times of great difficulty and times of great joy. Usually we focus on making the transition from pain to relief as quickly as possible, but in the process, we may forget the significance of the … Continue reading →

The Pursuit of Failures Often, when we focus too much on our own failures, we don’t reach the point where grace changes us. That’s why the parable of the Prodigal Son is so comforting for people who are caught up … Continue reading →

The Cost of Comfort “ ‘[You all] comfort; comfort my people,’ says your God. ‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, that her compulsory labor is fulfilled, that her sin is paid for, that she has received from … Continue reading →

Connecting the Dots When we don’t have all the facts, we still like to connect the dots. Questions make us uncomfortable, so we draw lines with answers that make us feel safe and that fit our worldview. But sometimes we … Continue reading →