Jon Acuff says, “A good tradition is like a speed bump. It slows you down and reminds you of years gone by.”
The tradition of hanging Christmas lights was literally slowing me down, keeping me from the other activities I would rather be doing. But this speed bump in my day also reminded me that Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). Where there is confusion, He offers clarity. Where there is death, He offers life. As I hung each bulb, Jesus’ words were being hung on me.
When I was a child, my mother would collect coins wherever she could find them – between couch cushions or on the sidewalk. We didn’t have a lot of money, but she would always keep an eye out for “spare” change. When she had collected enough, she would take me and my sisters to the store to buy us a candy bar or some other small treat.
Despite our romanticism about the early church, they had their fair share of problems – favoritism, theological arguments, and divisions (to name a few). Yet…
Following Jesus on the path towards spiritual health sometimes leads us up mountaintops. Here, God’s presence is a tangible experience and activity like prayer, scripture reading, and worship are fulfilling.
One-third of our lives are spent at work. When you consider errands, chores, hobbies, or raising children, the percentage of our lives we spend working can be significantly higher than 30 percent.
After all of His creating, God rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3). The word used to describe God’s rest is the Hebrew word shabath and it’s where the word Sabbath originates from. The literal definition of Sabbath is to stop. God’s exclamation point on creation was a whole day to stop creating.
Millenia later, the Sabbath has all but disappeared from our collective consciousness. The fourth commandment to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Yet many of us even feel guilty for taking a day “off” yet no, or very little, guilt for working seven days a week.
When you think of the word authority, what comes to mind? You might think of someone who used their authority to control or manipulate you. If that’s the case, the word authority may cause a negative reaction. But…
Olfactory fatigue, more commonly known as nose blindness, occurs when we encounter a scent over and over again. Apparently, over time, the nerve that detects the scent stops sending electrical signals to our brains. After prolonged exposure to a particular aroma, we temporarily lose the ability to perceive the scent.
In the middle of Holy Week, we celebrate another spy story. Yet, unlike the fictional stories of Jack Bauer and Perry the Platypus, the historical account of Judas Iscariot is neither heroic or entertaining.
I can become so preoccupied with my circumstances that it’s easy to forget God is with me. Too often, it’s only when I am shaken by the world that I desperately search for the safety of God’s presence.