"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” The psalmist does not depict Yahweh as a contractor ready to receive our blueprint for a new house....

If you tell the story of King David, Israel’s most celebrated ruler, and if you describe his ancestry, you have to include a foreign woman, a Moabite named Ruth. Through her...

At first glance, Naomi’s suggestions to Ruth seem a bit dar­ing, even dangerous. But nothing in the text detracts from a genuine concern for her loyal and com­pas­sionate Moabite daughter-in-law who,...

Even though this passage was easy to memorize as a child, it confounded me. How could I love God when I couldn’t see, hear, or touch God? Years later as a...

Martin Buber, an early twentieth-century Jewish theologian, dedicated his life to understanding relationships. He saw two distinct types—experiences (I-It) and encounters (I-Thou). In I-It relationships we treat people as objects. In...

Growing up, I tried to be a good Christian so that I could squeak by in life unscathed by pain and sorrow. The formula went something like this: Be good, follow...

I  have sat by the bedsides of many people as they took their final breath. Some of those deaths were slow and agonizing; others were peaceful transitions. All were sacred moments...

Sometimes it is hard to sing praises. Whether I am checking my Facebook feed or listening to the latest news, my automatic response these days is more likely to be sadness,...

I  have a friend who did the unthinkable. Twenty years ago she and her husband were pastors in a highly successful, growing church when they discerned a call to leave everything...

I  live in a tranquil community with walking trails, bike lanes, and beaver ponds. But when I look out my window I see pain in my neighborhood: One couple is ending...