The Genius of Jesus’s Genealogy
Ancestry.com is the largest for-profit genealogical company in the world, referring to itself as “the global leader in family history and consumer genomics.”2 It boasts access to approximately 40 billion historical records from 80 different countries of origin, has 3 million paying subscribers, and over 25 million people in its DNA network. User-generated content has resulted in more than 131 million family trees and more than 1 billion photographs, scanned documents, and written stories. Needless to say, what used to…
New Year’s Resolutions
A common practice that coincides with the start of a new year is the making of New Year’s resolutions. A New Year’s resolution is a personal declaration of what one intends to do at the start of a new year in order to change an undesired trait or behavior, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve one’s life. Setting such resolutions can be beneficial because they provide a strategic plan for how you intend to make beneficial changes in the…
Big & Little Sinners
While Jesus reclines at Simon the Pharisee’s house (Luke 7:36ff), a woman of the city, apparently with a sinful reputation, approaches Him. Weeping, she falls to the ground at the feet of Jesus, and wets Jesus’s feet with her tears. Her hair then becomes a towel to wipe up the sob-filled mess. She finishes by anointing Jesus’s feet with an ointment she has brought. “As oft as I think over this event,” says Gregory the Great, “I am more disposed…
What Inspires You?
In the early 2000s, Walt Disney Imagineering (the creative geniuses behind the Disney Parks) set out on a mission to build a thrill ride that could rival anything in the world. Instead of simply building an epic roller coaster, they wanted to tell an immersive story that allowed guests to feel like they were legitimately going to face peril in a setting that was not in the United States. They wanted to build a ride that seemed to journey through…
Do Your Best To Be Blue
“We are the Blue Family,” Father Blue proclaimed to his first child. “We color the rivers, lakes, and seas, and we paint the sky on the most beautiful days.” The first child left home, went out on her own, and became red. And her color filled the sky with ominous and scary imagery. “We are the Blue Family,” Father Blue proclaimed to his second child. “We color the rivers, lakes, and seas, and we paint the sky on the most…
Be the One, Not the Nine
Although the Thanksgiving holiday traces its roots back to the 17th century and was first observed nationally under the presidency of George Washington, it did not become an annual holiday until 1863 by the proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. In Lincoln’s address regarding the Thanksgiving holiday, he noted that all blessings “are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.” His statement is reminiscent of Habakkuk 3:2…
The Faith of the Blind
In Mark 10, we see a passage of scripture that illustrates the beauty of Jesus and the incredible faith of an individual. This story begins in verse 46.“And they came to Jericho. And as [Jesus] was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.”We are quickly introduced to an individual whom many of us would avoid: a beggar sitting next to a well-traveled area. Unfortunately, nearly…
Humility At The Jordan
In II Kings 5:9-14, Naaman, a friend of the king of Syria, arrives in Israel seeking a cure for his leprosy. His journey brings him to the home of a prophet of the Lord named Elisha, who tells Naaman that he must wash seven times in the Jordan River to be cured. Through their dialogue with one another, not only does it become apparent that Naaman’s pride is perhaps his most destructive disease, but also we all learn lessons of…
Comfort Zone Caution
The story goes that a mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released the little girl’s grip and said comfortingly to the boy, “There, there, she didn’t mean it. She doesn’t know that it hurts.” He nodded his acknowledgment, and she left the room. As she started down the hall the little girl screamed. Rushing back in, she asked, “What happened? The little boy replied,…
God the Creator – Have You Met Him?
Has there ever been a sight so beautiful it just takes your breath away? Perhaps you have gotten the chance to stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, or overlook the Rocky Mountains, and those stunning sights have caused you to find yourself speechless; you have been unable to put the beauty you see into words. In those moments, it is almost impossible to avoid breaking out in songs of praise to our God. He has created…
Just Like Pluto
For 76 years, Pluto was a planet. Then one day back in 2006, it wasn’t. On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded Pluto to the status of a dwarf planet based on their newly refined definition of a planet.1 The demotion of Pluto to the status of a dwarf planet was influenced by the fact that Pluto acts differently than the other eight planets. In particular, Pluto’s orbit is different. It is elliptical rather than circular and…
A Friend Loves At All Times
A small town has a unique way of honoring folks who have supported others who are going through tough times. On the wall which surrounds a park near the city’s center, the name of a citizen experiencing some type of difficulty is written inside of a circle. At some point down the road in this person’s trial, he/she is asked, “Who are those who have been there for you through it all – all of your suffering, anxiety, and weakness?” …