But God, I want it my way!           God’s way of doing things isn’t at all like our way of doing things. The Bible shows us again and again, but we don’t get it. The same theme comes up with Jesus and his followers. “Those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” — […]

Know who Jesus is! Jesus knew his followers were confused about his identity. Miraculous healings and feedings weren’t enough. So to make things plain, Jesus took his followers to the place that symbolized all that clouded their vision. In today’s Gospel story, Jesus takes them to “the district of Cesarea Philippi” to reveal his true […]

Do you have the faith of a pest? Would you like to? God’s OK with it! Several Bible stories feature a pest – someone who keeps after God, asking again and again for something that’s important to them. What makes these folks special to God is their pestering comes from a deep faith that God […]

So let ‘afraid’ turn to ‘a faith’! Jesus’ followers often were afraid – but Jesus kept on loving them and pushing them to “take heart” and let him nurture their faith. Even after Jesus’ most famous miracle – the feeding of the 5,000 – his followers still had trouble with their faith. (How human is […]