In the Meantime . . . Much in our lives is ambiguous, uncertain, unresolved, and conflicted. What do we do while waiting for clarity and resolution? Paul advises that we keep awake. Be...

What Are You Looking At? You are still sitting on the steps. You hear the dryer buzz, but you can’t make yourself get up to go fold the laundry. You have...

Not Again! You are slumped on the stairs, head in your hands, going over in your mind what she said, what you said. You feel that hard knot of anger tightening...

Is God really so severe as our week’s passages imply? Are we shocked, even outraged, to entertain that the answer might be “Yes”? Perhaps we have domesticated the “consuming fire” of...

The passages this week have made me squirm. I want more grace and less accountability. I’ve thought, Well, that’s the Old Testament. Give me Jesus. Or, Paul sometimes speaks abruptly; Jesus...

The good news of Jesus’ return fills our sails with winds of hope that propel us forward into even the most difficult days. Those who have died are not gone forever....

Are you ready for some good news? We get a breather today and some words of encouragement. God’s people have always suffered the awkwardness, and sometimes even persecution, of not being...

Joshua challenges the people to make a decision that moment and declare it publicly. But before anyone can reply, Joshua takes a bold stand in declaring his allegiance to the Lord....

“The Lord, the God of Israel” has worked redemptively for centuries on behalf of this particular people. Joshua has led the people across the Jordan and into the Promised Land. Near...

You might want to skip this week’s readings. They won’t be easy—way too much truth-telling for my comfort. But if you’ve had a feeling that lately your idea of God has...