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“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV) We visited our son in San Diego recently and met some of the guys on his SEAL team. I was especially excited to meet their dog handler and his dog Max. (The SEALs use Belgian Malinois and we…

Alpha male. Dominator. Top dog. On social media. In the corporate race. At church. Being top in your field is admirable. No one argues with dedication to excellence, self-discipline, and a high level of mastery. Unless. Unless it comes with a heaping dose of arrogance. I brought my new puppy home last week. My sixty-pound…

A slight change in trajectory brings a major change down range. I’ve spent some time in Romans 1 lately and the last half of the chapter is sobering. You might know that section as the homosexuality passage, but that’s not its true focus. Romans 1:18-32 tracks what happens when a shift from true center occurs.…

Conflict. It’s essential in fiction. Sherlock needs Moriarty. Batman needs the Joker. Wesley needs Prince Humperdinck. Without conflict, our hero remains—ordinary. Gandalf still wears gray. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy remain in England. Harry Potter grows up without that scar. Many question God regarding evil—why He permits it. Why did He create Satan when He…

Weeds I hate them. They’d taken over the backyard to such an extent I was ready to cement it. Patches of weeds sprouted between decorative stone and invasive Bermuda runners held the flowers captive. I abandoned yard work when I started on my master’s degree. Thankfully, my husband thrives on such projects while I’m holed…

Told you so. Words Peter never heard. Jesus had warned him. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31 NIV) Talk about failure. Peter had blown it. Big time.…

Nick and Joe. Wealthy. Respected. Godly. Sitting together. Outside the city. Like a couple of unwelcome cowboys tossed out of the local saloon. Why? According to Mosaic Law, they were unclean from contact with a dead body. Purification required: Separation “outside the camp” (Numbers 5:2-4) Seven days of uncleanness with purification rites on Days 3…

“ ‘What do you think?’ ‘He is worthy of death,’ they answered.” Matthew 26:66 NIV Worthy. We define it as good. Deserving of respect, praise, or attention. Having value. Estimable. Meritorious. Somehow, I don’t think that’s what the Sanhedrin meant, like Inigo Montoya to Vizzini in The Princess Bride, “You keep using that word. I do…

It’s my fault. When we had children, I prayed for strong wills. My thinking was, once they were properly trained, our kids would not waver in their allegiance to God. But, oh, the training. Isaiah 14 hosts the “I will” passage, the one where Satan declares the desires of his heart: “I will ascend to…

It began with one. One croak. One ribbit. One slimy green frog. And then there were too. Too many. Way too many. Frogs in the pantry. Frogs in the bathroom. Frogs in the bed. Pharaoh summoned Moses, ready to compromise with the God of the Hebrews in exchange for a little extermination work. God exterminated…