Sheep are anxious creatures frightened by anything that moves – even running water! They wander into danger, lose their footing and tumble down rocky inclines or walk right off of cliffs. They have such a poor sense of smell that they’ll drink poisonous water and eat poisonous plants without sensing… Read More
This fourth and final week of Advent is all about LOVE. In Hebrew, ahava means love. But unlike here in the West, Hebrew love isn’t a feeling we fall into. It’s an affection that takes action. Right in the middle of ahava is hav – the verb that means “to… Read More
Zephaniah was a prophet – a man sent by God to deliver a message to God’s people. The message he brings is bad news. And the very best. God’s people have been worshiping cows and other gods and goddesses made of stone and metal (again). They have plenty to share… Read More
You remember the story of the Exodus, right? Pharaoh enslaves and abuses God’s people in Egypt. They cry out for God to set them free. God sends the deliverer Moses and a bunch of terrible plagues to break them out of slavery. They leave Egypt in the middle of the… Read More
The first week of Advent we reflected on hope: Hope is waiting for something good we believe is coming. We’ve pondered peace: Peace is when none of our parts are missing, broken, or out of place. For generations, God’s people HOPED for the Messiah to come and bring PEACE. Now,… Read More
My morning began with a phone call from Uganda. Richmond and I speak often; he’s become like a brother to me. He’s always encouraging, teaching, and inspiring me. He was born into extreme poverty but escaped it to become a pastor with a PhD in theology and a voice like… Read More
My dad is a great storyteller. One of his best is about a pig. He was training Vietnamese villagers on how to fight against the communists. One day he took his newly trained “soldiers” out into the jungle when all of a sudden, gunshots rang out. The Vietnamese trainees were… Read More
The Bible doesn’t begin with God making everything out of nothing. It begins with God creating peace out of a mess. In the beginning, God created the sky and the land. Now, the land was formless and empty, darkness was on the surface of the deep abyss, and the Spirit… Read More
This second week of Advent is all about peace. What is peace? To most of us these days, peace is the absence of conflict. Or it’s stress-free tranquility and relaxation. A time without war is peaceful and a nap on a quiet Sunday afternoon is too.But the ancient peace of… Read More
This is a story about a boy named Elvis, his very grateful mom, and the man she says rescued their lives. Elvis was four when I visited his home at the edge of a slum in Nairobi, Kenya. His mom hugged me and held my hand and smiled and cried… Read More
I love Advent! Each week of Advent focuses on a theme from the Bible: hope, peace, joy, and love. This week is all about hope. What is hope? You know the feeling you had as a kid the night before Christmas? You were so excited about what you knew was… Read More
Wearing a mask isn’t just a mandate. It’s a mitzvah! In Hebrew, a mitzvah is a command from God. A bar mitzvah is a son of the commandments and a bat mitzvah is a daughter of the commandments. But a mitzvah is also any good deed that fulfills the commandments… Read More
The words of the apostle Peter are just what I need right now. Now that you have purified souls by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 1 Peter 1:22 In early Christianity, “obeying the truth” was shorthand… Read More
Seems like everybody in Nashville has a side hustle. For years, mine was social media marketing. For several years I managed Compassion International’s blog marketing program, and I’ve helped market large music tours and conferences online as well. I’m fascinated by how messages spread across digital spaces. For my other… Read More
Sit here with me for just a minute. Be still. Take a deep breath. And another. Now, let’s read from Isaiah’s journal. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah… Read More
On October 6, 1536, William Tyndale was found guilty of heresy, tied to a stake, strangled to death, and his body burned. Tyndale was a Catholic friar who translated the New Testament into English without permission or oversight from the Catholic Church. His translation contained many errors and some of… Read More
What does a Spanish monk have to say about Breonna Taylor, the police who killed her, and imperfect human justice? When Spain sent armed conquistadors to explore the New World, the native peoples thought they were being attacked and defended themselves against an invasion. The conquistadors in turn thought they… Read More
God promised to bless all people everywhere through one man named Abraham. How would God do this? The Backstory In Genesis 18, the LORD said, “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so… Read More
In the beginning, God built a Garden where people could live at peace with God and each other and enjoy God’s protection and provision. There was no conflict, no hurt, no want. It was very good. (Genesis 1&2) Adam and Eve were created to be the “image of God”. They… Read More
The last time you and I talked, we learned that kings of old were to rule with “justice and righteousness” and how the kings of Israel failed miserably at that. They were supposed to order their kingdom God’s good way, giving everyone what God said they were due without favoritism… Read More
Do faithful followers of God experience anxiety and depression? David did. I have. David models a way through mental illness in Psalm 42. •David got REAL David was honest with God and others about his thoughts and feelings. He admitted he was thirsty, panting, weeping, doubting, not eating, feeling alone… Read More
The Bible isn’t a modern Western book. It’s an ancient Near Eastern book. And so there’s a lot of stuff in the Bible that goes over my head… • Why on earth did God order the Levites to kill 3,000 Israelites as punishment for SOME Israelites worshipping a golden cow?… Read More
I was twenty-five and on staff at a church going through a lot of change. In staff meetings, one of our pastors read the critical comments that had been left in the offering plates the previous Sunday. Anonymous comments were tossed in the trash. Signed comments were often ridiculed and… Read More
In the ancient Near East, there were loads of creation stories. It seems like every nation had one to explain where its people came from, who their enemies were, and what their gods were like. The Assyrians, Babylonians, Akkadians, Sumerians, Egyptians – they all had these stories. And so did… Read More
It’s hard to submit to rulers who don’t like us. It may be even harder to love brothers and sisters in Christ we don’t like! But these difficulties help us discover who you really are. View Post
Shaun Groves