Letters from Crete–part 2

“Dear Paul, Why have you left me here?…I’m hurting…I’m discouraged…things aren’t working out…I don’t like the island of Crete anymore…and I’m ready for you to bring me home. Sincerely, Titus.” Paul’s steady hand began penning his reply. “To Titus, my true son in our common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. For this cause I left you in…

Your wit’s end

I’ve never been a huge fan of the signs with clever sayings that some churches display outside of their buildings (no offense if your favorite church uses those signs). It’s not that I think it’s a bad idea to broadcast a wise saying it’s just that very few of the sayings come off well—to me, they usually sound religious, cheesy, or trite. In one of…

Playing Jenga

Have you ever played Jenga? It’s the torturous game where you remove blocks from a wooden tower and reposition them at increasingly higher levels. The game is over when some poor soul gets too aggressive in their placement and causes the entire tower to come crashing down. It’s a fun game if you can handle the pressure, and if you don’t mind winning by default.…

God–our Father and Mother

God is a Father. We all know that. The Bible tells us as much and Jesus Himself taught us to address our prayers to “Our Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). He is the ultimate template for what a good father should be—but He’s also much, much more. When God created man in His own image, He made man “male and female” (Genesis 1:27),…