commands – Page 2 – 300 words a day

How I lost and still won.

I didn’t win the contest. The prize was a free online course about care of the soul. I had read from most of the course materials but, as I said in the email, “I’m at a point of needing to be “encouraged” to go through the material in a structured way, though I’ve read from several […]

by Jon Swanson

How one disciple paid his taxes.

Sometimes we promise more that our friends want to deliver. “Of course he’ll buy you supper.” “Of course we can help you move next Tuesday.” “Of course he likes t-shirts with funny sayings.” “Of course he pays the temple tax.” The temple tax? Yes. Everyone over 20 in Israel was counted. When they were counted, […]

by Jon Swanson

eager to fight.

You’ve been going through a lot. I get it. Some of it matters, some of it doesn’t. And you know that. But still, you’ve been going through a lot. And you just said, “The next person who crosses that line is going to get smacked.” What concerns me is that when you say that, when I say […]

by Jon Swanson

while i’m away.

I was speaking at a conference about what I do. I said that my passion is helping people emotionally understand the truth of God’s work. I decided to see whether I could illustrate what I meant. So I said, Some of you are bosses. Some are parents. Some are spouses or coworkers. Many of you, […]

by Jon Swanson

starting today

When you walk into our house you see a framed piece of calligraphy. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve,” it starts in King James English. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” It’s a couple of sentences from a longer speech by Joshua. Near the end of his life, […]