Contemplative Steps
By Stuart Powell On the southern end of the temple mount in Jerusalem is a broad staircase that led throngs of first-century worshippers of Israel’s God to the center of the Jewish faith. The steps...
View ArticleNo Contest
By Stuart Powell One Old Testament story is familiar to almost everyone, even those with little exposure to the Bible. A young, diminutive shepherd faced a mammoth, lifelong fighter in mortal combat....
View ArticleMore Than Enough
By Jon Wren Many Christ followers observe Communion as a reminder of God’s grace and goodness and as a gift we receive rather than a prize we must earn. But for many Christians and churches, the...
View ArticleMemory: Weak Yet Powerful
By Stuart Powell Suffering and sorrow stink! Pain—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual—is seemingly ever present in our lives, and there often is no good way to deal with it. It never passes...
View ArticleDisfigured
By Doug Redford Jane Alden Stevens was a professor of fine arts at the University of Cincinnati. During a trip to France several years ago, she noticed a stone obelisk in a small French village that...
View ArticleA Reminder We Need
By Jon Wren Larry David is one of the most successful comic writers ever. The creator of TV’s Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm is a household name. Yet several years ago, in a profile in Rolling...
View ArticleTrue Glory
By Jason Shreve On July 4, Americans celebrate our independence from Great Britain and the beginning of our country. George Washington was our first president, of course, but did you know he didn’t...
View ArticleUnbroken
By Beau Bruton Sometimes people talk about the “broken body” of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As horrible as what Jesus went through, to say his body was “broken” is incorrect when taken literally. The...
View ArticleGodliness
By Stuart Powell Dictionary.com defines godliness as “conforming to the laws and wishes of God.” Those are demanding words. To conform, we must fully understand God’s law. To live up to God’s...
View ArticleA Moment
By Stuart Powell By definition, a moment is a very short span of time. The swing of a pendulum,a breath,a sigh,a yawn,a statement;all of them take only a moment. We often dismiss the moments of life...
View ArticleHelp the Fish
By Jon Wren One Sunday in Texas, when legendary General Sam Houston attended a service at a small country church, he decided to place his faith in Christ. After the service, the pastor and...
View ArticleOn-Time Delivery
By Jon Wren Several years ago, an independent study conducted by a British research firm determined that the most efficient organization in the world was the United State Postal Service. The study...
View ArticleFaith of the 21
By Stuart Powell Some images in life are so tragic, we struggle to process what we’ve seen. In early 2015, 21 young Christian Egyptian men clad in orange jumpsuits were marched single file onto a...
View ArticleFirst Memories
By Stuart Powell In the second-last chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses blessed the tribes of Israel. As the old prophet prepared to ascend the mountain to view the Promised Land and then to die, he poured...
View ArticleWashed, Sanctified, Justified
By Stuart Powell As Christians, we must choose how to express ourselves. We all are tempted to display the sins in our relationships with people inside and outside of the faith. Paul wrote about this...
View ArticleThe Meaning of Our Labor
By Jon Wren Many of us enjoy an extra day off and spend time with family and friends on Labor Day weekend. This uniquely American holiday was created in the 19th century to honor American workers by...
View ArticleBetter Promises
By Stuart Powell Much of Christianity is understood best through the lens of the Old Testament. The history of Israel and the Law of Moses reveal how far humanity fell from the ideal God created. The...
View ArticleBlood and Victory
By Stuart Powell An 8-year-old girl had tried for months to learn to ride a bicycle. Finally, while visiting her cousins one day, she succeeded. Unable to contain her excitement, she ran to her mother...
View ArticleWhen He Appears . . .
By Stuart Powell Note: This meditation uses two visual aids: fresh produce of some sort, and a canned version of the same produce. Replacing corn (the example I use) with different produce of choice...
View ArticleHappy New Year!
By Jon Wren Tonight [September 29, 2019] marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah literally means a “day of shouting or blasting of horns” by the priests....
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