patience – 300 words a day

Way to listen

(Paul Merrill writes here every First Friday.) “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.’ ” (Psalm 20:7) That’s a great way to start a day. Or end a day. David, the guy who wrote those words, preceded those thoughts by saying, “Hear me […]

by Jon Swanson

loving through interruptions.

Jesus is counting down the hours he has with the disciples. He’s facing death. It’s a burden. Though he knows it will turn out okay eventually, he is not looking forward to the process. So he’s covering the important stuff, the ideas that will be on the exam. Judas leaves the room, Jesus takes a deep […]

by Jon Swanson

i bet they weren’t ready

Jesus and his disciples were attracting a crowd. People came, the disciples baptized, the religious leaders noticed. They had the story wrong, of course. They thought Jesus was doing baptizing. But still, they noticed. For some reason, when Jesus hears about the attention, he heads out of town, back toward home. It could be that […]

by Jon Swanson

unexpected grace

I understand why we have the pictures we do of God. Angry, authoritarian, destructive. There are stories of people dying throughout the Bible that seem to point us that way. While I could debate those right now, I’d like to offer a couple of other stories to think about. Moses is the leader of the […]

by Jon Swanson

an unspiritual discipline

“Every time you say no or say yes, put an x on a calendar.” We’ve been looking doable actions coming out of Titus 2:11-14. We’ve talked about activities that have been pretty spiritual – praying, knowing that God loves us, saying no to ungodliness, saying yes to godliness. These are important actions, and doable. They […]