“Although I value this book,” wrote Martin Luther in introducing his translation of Jude’s brief letter, “it is an epistle that need not be counted among the chief books which are supposed to lay the foundations of faith.” To this day, many Christians join the Protestant reformer in wanting to skip a book that is … More The With-God Life: Hey Jude
Earlier this year, as COVID forced Bethel online and Minnesotans sheltered in place, I spent about four weeks writing daily Lenten devotionals. Spurred by a midweek sermon from my brother-in-law, the series was meant to help me focus on spending time each day encountering God in Scripture. I called the series “The With-God Life,” the … More The With-God Life: Part Two
Let me revive my series of lectionary reflections long enough to share what I wrote this morning for the daily devotions our church emails out to members. I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as … More The With-God Life: The Nature of Prayer
How we read the Bible is always shaped by our context, but I can’t wait until the day when my mind stops seeing Scripture in terms of a pandemic. Just before I came to this morning’s lectionary selection from Psalm 31, for example, I saw a news report about the possibility that we’ll all start … More The With-God Life: Deliverance from Enemies
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness; answer me in your righteousness. Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. (Psalm 143:1-2) In yesterday’s reading, a drought threatened all of Israel. Today, David’s soul thirsts for God “like a parched land” (v … More The With-God Life: “Do not hide your face from me”
When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, … More The With-God Life: Lazarus
As I’ve been seeking to spend more time with God this month, I’ve often prayed before morning devotions that God would help me see the daily lectionary text with new eyes, that familiar words might take on an unfamiliar meaning. But this morning, as I opened to Colossians 1, I realized right away that those … More The With-God Life: “We have not ceased praying for you”
“How do you spend time with God?” That’s the question my brother-in-law asked me tonight. He didn’t mean to ask me — at least, not me in particular. Dan is a Lutheran pastor in rural Iowa. Like clergy of all denominations and all religions, he’s trying to figure out how to serve a congregation that … More “How do you spend time with God?”
This week I broke my blogging silence here to blog about silence. And over at The Anxious Bench, I explained what the history of “home missions” has to do with my current book project. Elsewhere… • To understand the stark difference in character between the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and the one from 2016, read … More That Was The Week That Was
God, give me an uncomplicated faith — if only for a moment. That’s what I prayed this morning as I attended the annual Minnesota Prayer Breakfast, a now 59-year tradition whose participants “gather to work and pray for unity so that they can come to know [God] and have their lives transformed by his love.” … More On Prayer, Death, and Resurrection
