BLOG––Encouraged by Faith

Sometimes we have grand dreams of what we will do for God if we could just get away to travel to another place or if we were just at another stage of life. We do not intend to procrastinate, but ... Our personal situations will never be optimal for advancing God's kingdom. Legitimate obstacles...

In the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches icons are ubiquitous. The brightly colored, naive paintings of Jesus, Mary and the apostles, often depicting biblical stories or portraying theological concepts, are used in times of worship, prayer, and for educational or decorative purposes. They...

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood....” Proverbs 6:16 - 17 “Haughty eyes” has several meanings, but in this post, I’m talking about self-righteousness as...

My heart goes out to those who are depressed in our worship assemblies.  Many people can rely on their personal temperaments to help them fully participate in corporate worship.  It's harder for ones who come to worship feeling dull, slow, even sad and...

I grew up in the company of men. With a father, three brothers, a husband and two sons, my closest human bonds throughout my life primarily have been male. As a child, the kids I played with on my street were boys, and most of the kids in my class at church were boys. I didn’t really spend...

I've read other books by Rachel Held Evans.  A couple of years ago I heard her present at a seminar.  She always has provocative things to say.  So it was with great anticipation that I sat down tonight to read her book “Inspired.”  (It also...

A few months ago my newly nine-year-old leaned close to me during a quiet moment of Sunday morning worship. “Can I take communion?” He whispered in the way little boys do that can actually be louder than spoken words. I looked at him, faced with a decision to reflect on this request...

We are called to hospitality.  (I Peter 4:9; Hebrews 13:2; Matthew 25:31-46).  This includes not only our spiritual family but even strangers. How can we practice hospitality in the 21st century to strangers?  I suggest a minimal first step:  see...

How many times have you changed your mind about something? I don’t mean whether or not you would order dessert, but really altered your position on a weighty matter? If you have a particularly stubborn nature like I do, probably not often. Has your mind been changed suddenly, or was change...

“Paperwork, cleaning the house, dealing with the innumerable visitors who come all through the day, answering the phone, keeping patience and acting intelligently, which is to find some meaning in all that happens – these things, too, are the works of peace.” Dorothy...