On more than one occasion over the years someone I'm talking with will say, "Pastor, I feel invisible. No one seems to really see me unless they need something, and then they don't see me, they just see a dispenser for their need." Have you ever felt that way, as if you don't really matter,...
The words come from Bilbo Baggins like molasses on a cold winter day, slow, heavy, reluctant. Gandalf the Gray inquires as to his well-being and Bilbo describes a "thinness, like butter over too much bread." I have to confess, more often these days as I encounter the anxiety and fear so many live with and...
Recently I asked my Facebook friends of they could identify the single most dismissed, ignored, and disobeyed verse in the Bible. First out of the gate was, "Judge not." Others offered "love one another," or "love your neighbor as yourself." One friend offered, "Pray without ceasing," as the most ignored verse, which was a pretty...
The furor over President Trump's recent executive order related to immigrant processing often coalesces around international exiles and their treatment. Christians ought to think often about exiles for that is what we are in the world. Peter refers to the Christians to whom he is writing the first of his two letters retained in the...
Winter has finally arrived full force on the North Shore. Fresh, heavy wet snow weighs down the branches of the spruce and balsam and cedar trees in the woods across the parking lot from my office window. It looks like Christmas. Of course, it almost is Christmas, so it’s about time! Snow is not my favorite...
