I’m not sure if you noticed it, but the stock market dropped a lot recently. Ok, a lot may be an understatement. The DOW is down 10% since December, and the NASDAQ is down 20% in the same period.

It’s got many people seeing red, and I think it’s a great time to ask ourselves where we stand on these words written by the Holy Spirit through David:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭20‬:‭7‬, emphasis mine)

Economic uncertainty happens. This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. And the point of that verse isn’t to shame any of us for feeling some type of way about all the red numbers we’ve seen on tickers over the last week. Rather, the point of that verse is to challenge each of us with what we do now.

Continue reading

This morning I was reading in John 14, and after Jesus had told his apprentices that he would be leaving them soon, but not alone, he spoke the following words:

All this I have spoken while still with you. (John‬ ‭14‬:‭25‬, emphasis mine)

We’ve all heard the expression that some things are better left unsaid, and yet I sensed the Holy Spirit whispering to me as I read that some things are better said. That some words carry weight that can only be felt when they are spoken and, because of the proximity, heard.

I mean, let’s be real, if you got a text from the IRS saying you owed money, you’d delete it and report it as junk. But let a card-carrying, badge-wearing IRS agent knock on your door to tell you the same thing, and you’re suddenly listening. I can tell by the sweat forming on your brow just from reading that scenario that you understand how the medium we use to communicate goes a long way toward communicating the weightiness of what we’re saying.

Jesus knew his time was short, and he knew that some things are better said face to face. He made sure he was with them so that he could tell them what was coming.

Continue reading

Today’s the day after Epiphany, and as we all turn the page on the Christmas season, I want to leave you with a final thought that has the power to transform the new year we’re all embracing. It comes near the end of the majestic introduction of the Gospel of John.

[su_quote]So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT, emphasis mine)‬[/su_quote]

Many other translations say that Jesus “took on flesh,” and all of them are beautifully summed up by Eugene Peterson in The Message: “the Word took on flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

Continue reading