John Newton, writer of the hymn “Amazing Grace,” was converted as a slave trader. While at sea in the middle of a violent storm, he prayed for God’s mercy. The storm...

We face many choices every day. Shall we serve chicken or fish for dinner? Shall we exercise or watch television? Most choices do not much matter. But some choices have major...

In 1967, a diving accident left Joni Eareckson Tada paralyzed from the shoulders down. She was an artist, but at first she spit out the mouthsticks her therapist suggested she hold...

While praying a psalm such as this, we can identify with the psalmist. Who has not felt as though God is distant in their suffering? According to rabbinical writers, this psalm...

God has provided for my family in countless ways through the years. When we once needed a car, an elderly relative who could no longer drive gave us his. When I...

A picture of Abraham holding a dagger above Isaac alarmed my granddaughter. “Nana, what is that man doing?” Rachel asked. I explained as best I could to a six-year-old that God...

There is none like you among the gods, O LORD,” the psalmist sings in today’s passage. The God we serve is radically different from all other gods and Caesars and idols....

Journeying through our own times of wilderness can be all-consuming. The anxieties, worries, and fears swirl around us and within us and cloud our vision like a dust storm. This passage...

What does it mean to be baptized not only into Christ’s death but also his resurrection? Oscar Romero, archbishop of El Salvador, lived deeply into this mystery. At a time of...

As Jesus is concluding his instructions to the twelve disciples before sending them out, he warns them about just how costly their discipleship will be. Their new commitments will stir up...