"Continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling." Philippians 2:12 What’s that supposed to mean? I thought we weren’t supposed to be afraid. Perfect love drives out fear and all that. What gives? There is a lot of fear going on right now. First, there...
My mom was the queen of coincidence. She saw meaning in everything. It’s in my DNA to see beauty in the text that "just happens" to fall on mothers day during my series in Philippians. What Paul commands all of us to do in following the example...
Everything looks better on the brochure. The trip to Cabo. Getting married. Adopting a puppy. Having kids. You should have read the fine print. Even deciding to trust in Jesus seemed all upside. Sins forgiven. Eternal life. New family. What could go wrong? Sorry to be...
This is my prayer: that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best. Philippians 1:9–10. Our culture thrives on binary categories. Good and evil. Black and white. Left and right. Republican and democrat. Right and...
Locked down. Uncertain future. Separated from loved ones. Sound familiar? The apostle Paul wrote an affectionate letter to his friends at Philippi when he was in prison. But the tone of the letter is joy and gratitude for the partnership Christians have with Jesus and each...
By Shetal Desai Last week was Passion week……which means, as usual, I could be found watching the epic drama The Ten Commandments on television. And who couldn’t resist the 3-hour long dramatic re-creation of Exodus starring Charleton Heston as Moses? A Hebrew slave by birth, raised by the...
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame,...
The doors are closed but the church is open. A year ago this week we opened the doors of our church building in San Juan Capistrano. After twenty-two years of wandering from place to place, we finally established a home. Now it sits empty. The church...
Last week, someone commented on a video I posted on YouTube entitled HOW TO USE JESUS' PRAYER TO FIGHT THE CORONAVIRUS, “If God exists, either there's nothing he can do to stop it, or he chooses not to. Those are the only two choices.” Are those the...
The serenity prayer is one of my “go to” daily prayers: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” We can’t change the fact that we are in the middle of...
