Escape to Reality – Reflections on 1 Corinthians 15

Crystal blue water, white sandy shores, palm trees swaying in the warm tropical breeze, ice cold lemonade in your hands…aaahh…feeling it, aren’t you? If a tropical paradise escape seems just the thing for you, then you are probably experiencing what every human being at one point or another has experienced…that insatiable desire to escape.

Well, sorry, I don’t have a free Bahamas vacation to offer you today (you have to go to another website for that). But I can give you a glimpse into another kind of paradise you will one day be able to escape to. This paradise …

The Power of Power – Reflections on 1 Corinthians 14

I had no idea I was holding onto an electric fence. After all, who would have felt the need to set up an electric fence for that handful of docile cows in the corner? They didn’t look as if they could get up the gumption to walk, let alone try to break through a fence. After all, they couldn’t even get their tails moving fast enough to keep the flies off. But, I can guarantee you it certainly was an electric …

Essential, Extraordinary, Eternal Love – Reflections on 1 Corinthians 13 in the Church

Love. What exactly is love? It is somewhat hard to define, isn’t it? Just to get a taste of this, go to dictionary.com. It lists out fourteen definitions for love as a noun, eight definitions for love as a verb, and six idioms for love. The definitions range from “a passionate affection” to “a score of zero in tennis.” (What affection has to do with losing in tennis, I have no idea.) Love can certainly be one of those abstract principles that is somewhat hard to nail down. …

Colorful – Reflections on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Gotta love new crayons. Ever notice how excited a child is when they get a new box of crayons, even though they may have 500 old ones piled in a shoebox? I have to admit, I even get a little stoked by new crayons. I am much more tempted to sit down and color with my kids when there is a new box to break in. It is amazing to me how there can be a complete resurgence of coloring pandemonium in our house brought on just by a …

Longing for Resurrection

I never liked that crucifix. It hung suspended over the altar at the front of the church I grew up in. I cannot tell you how many times as a little girl I sat in the pew and stared at that crucifix. Every time I looked at it, I wanted to scream, “Get down, Jesus! Get off of that cross!!!” Sometimes I thought I was very near to breaking through my shyness and the thick silence of the big gothic sanctuary and belting those words out. I even envisioned …

A Human Calculation

The unifying power of sports is undeniable. If you are tempted to disagree, head to the video store and pick up a copy of the movie, Invictus, for you will see this powerful truth in action. The movie shines a spotlight on a significant time in the history of South Africa, after the awful practice of apartheid had ended and Nelson Mandela stepped in to lead the nation to reconciliation. His job certainly wasn’t a walk in the park: uniting a torn country by reconciling the white supremacists who had ruled South Africa for almost two hundred years with …