So many roads, so much at stake So many dead ends, I’m at the edge of the lake Sometimes I wonder what it’s gonna take To find dignity. Bob Dylan A small group of children see me taking photos of their school building and scamper to jump in front of the camera.
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Here is where faith begins. “I believe in God the Father almighty, creator…” You are not an accident. You are not merely the best mutation in the neighborhood. You are not merely a species who is really good at avoiding getting eaten by another species. You can seek design and purpose in your life because
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What do you really see when you look in the mirror? You probably notice the lines that were not there a year ago. The scar just beneath your chin from when you went head-first over your bicycle when you were a kid and they stitched you up with little thought to “cosmetic” effect. Your eye
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In many doorways of the Roman Empire there was a depiction of a god with two faces pointing in opposite directions. Janus was the god of transitions. He looked ahead and he looked behind–to the past and the future. He was a kind of doorkeeper, a minder of the gate. And so our calendar’s first
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It was Christmas Eve in Wauwatosa. In the early hours of the morning. Most of the citizens were asleep in their beds, warm, comfortable, safe. The Wauwatosa Police Department was on the job patrolling and protecting. A solitary squad car made its way on quiet streets past the Christmas lights and the Santa signs, a lone officer at the wheel. Jennifer Sebena, 30 years of age, two years on the force had wanted to be a cop for as long as she could remember and when she set her mind to something she pursued it with diligence. No surprise she graduated top of her class at the academy. She was on patrol.
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After Christmas, new articles in The Brook Letter by Mel Lawrenz: sign up. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. –Luke 2:20 At the birth of Jesus, amidst the dirt and straw of a stable, millennia of promises, prophecies,
On December 24, 1968, three astronauts gave a Christmas greeting to more people on earth who had ever listened to a broadcast in history, as they orbited the moon. Here are their exact words: Bill Anders “We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8
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Learn how “Spiritual Influence” works. Take the survey now! While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. – Luke 2:6 On the night before Jesus was born, the shepherds would have seen the night sky the way they had seen it thousands of times before. That was a quiet night,
This is post #23 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.”Read more devotionals by Mel Lawrenz. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen
After Christmas, new articles in The Brook Letter by Mel Lawrenz: sign up. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. – Luke 2:30-32 The winter solstice on December 21, the darkest day
How does “Spiritual Influence” work? Take the Survey. The word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. – John 1:14 Not only did the Son of God become a baby, but also he became flesh. Divinity joined to corporeal muscle, blood and bones. In this humbling of the eternal Son of God, the Word
This is post #20 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.”Read more devotionals by Mel Lawrenz. They went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. – Matthew 2:9-10 In
After Christmas, new articles in The Brook Letter by Mel Lawrenz: sign up. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and
Learn how “spiritual influence” works. See the survey. And he will be called…Prince of Peace – Isaiah 9:6 In ancient times, princes, whether they desired it or not, often became warriors. Rulers of nations may talk about peace, but nothing is more elusive than peace. And so, when Isaiah talked about a child who would be
This is post #17 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.” Want to read more devotionals by Mel Lawrenz? And he will be called…Everlasting Father. –Isaiah 9:6 What a remarkable string of names in Isaiah 9:6! Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Now, these were radical statements indeed, and they described the one
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