I’ve always loved connecting dots. In my childhood it was dots with numbers on paper that stranded together to form an object. As I threw my attention to the page and followed the numbered steps, a picture developed. A new creation appeared that brought joy to my little-girl heart.

In his book “The Cost of Discipleship”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined the term “cheap grace”. Cheap grace is meant to describe a shallow and convenient form of Christianity that emphasizes only the pleasant and easy parts without incorporating repentance, confession, discipline, and sacrifice. Cheap grace is salvation without the cross.`

One of my biggest pet peeves is not feeling listened to. I can detect it very quickly in a conversation.  The other person hears what I say.  But their responses reveal a clear lack of understanding, or a desire to try.  They are waiting for their next turn to speak. The conversation begins to feel like an empty exchange of words in which I am not being seen nor heard. 

We may think of ourselves as the seven loaves and few fishes – insufficient to meet the need. And that is correct! But if we withhold our aliquo, we should expect nihilo to follow. Yet, when we place ourselves into Jesus’ hands, we can be confident that we will be the something through which nothing will be impossible for him.

Mark Chapter 7 is a pivotal scene in Jesus’ ministry.  Exhausted from an intense period of teaching, healing, continuous skepticism from his disciples, and growing opposition from religious leaders, Jesus steps away from the familiar ground of Israel and enters the non-Jewish areas of Tyre and Sidon for rest and reflection…

In Jesus’ day the rabbis of the old covenant had added so much to the law of God that they had bound the people’s conscience. Where God had left men free, the Pharisees had put them in chains. Much of Jesus’ teaching and most of his conflicts with the Pharisees arose over this issue.

While at my son Preston’s football game, I had a moving conversation with another team mom. It was the first time we’d ever connected beyond socially expected niceties…

In the face of difficulty, when we need to lean into our faith, it is helpful to remember why our God can be trusted. How has He shown up in the past? How have we seen evidence of His presence in the world around us, in our own lives, and in the pages of Scripture? What’s in our boat to inspire us to keep rowing through a storm? What might even give us the courage to step out of the boat to walk on water?   

Jesus knows your faith isn’t perfect.  It is for that reason we should expect it to be stretched throughout our lives by way of trials.  Will you embrace those moments as opportunities to grow your trust in Him?  Will you hand Him the keys?

We know him. We know his family. We watched him grow up. He’s just a carpenter from a poor family. He’s nothing special. We even know his shady background. Who does he think he is coming here as if he could teach us? If we didn’t know him, maybe we’d be impressed – but we know better.

Embrace a faith that is willing to confront suffering and death with the hope of the resurrection. 

Do you have scars? Yes, we all have scars - physical and emotional scars – emblems of old pain, some visible but most hidden. Mark Chapter 5:1-20 is a story of an evil demonically possessed man who also had “scars”

A nasty storm had blown through. Lots of thunder and lightning. Buckets of wetness. The Twitter feed from our local fire department alerted us to the dangers of high winds and encouraged the community to hunker down at home until the storm passed.

Follow the Leader is a silly children’s game involving mimicking the movements of the line leader. It’s a game beloved by preschoolers but as we age, following a leader loses its charm. We’re told we should be leaders rather than followers and parents warn children strongly against the dangers of becoming a follower. The classic “if all your friends jumped off a bridge would you jump too?” comes to mind.

If you have been part of any church for long enough, you’ve seen all the messiness that comes with it.  Gossip.  Selfishness.  Pride.  Hypocrisy. And if you’re like me, you ask yourself from time to time, “Why can’t people just… be better?”

If you don’t want people to recognize you, all you need is a baseball cap, sunglasses, and hoodie. Or at least this is what action movies would have us believe as Ethan Hunt, Jason Bourne, Peter Parker, and more have all avoided detection with some variation of this disguise. 

First impressions are everything. In storytelling, a riveting opening scene fascinates audiences from the start and compels them to stay engaged. It sets the stage for the narrative, introduces key characters, establishes the setting, and builds suspense by hinting at the story’s ending. 

Dr James Dobson – founder of Focus on the Family related a story of small boy alone in bed in the dark and trying to sleep. He called out from his room and yelled “Dad I am scared.”  The father said do not be afraid son, close your eyes and go to sleep - you know that God is in there with you.”  Yes, I know, but can He send someone with SKIN ON?”