Archive for February 2023
2023 Daily Lenten Journey – Day 2
We have completed the first day of Great Lent, the Great Fast. The Church asks used to pray harder, fast more, and sin less. Were you successful yesterday? Many Churches began their Lenten services yesterday. Did you attend? Many say the purpose of Great Lent is repentance, and I agree. One of the meanings of…
Read More2023 Daily Lenten Journey – Day 1
Its that time again. Today is Clean Monday, the first day of the Great Fast, also known as Great Lent. I will again endeavor to provide a daily blog for our 2023 Daily Lenten Journey. I pray that our journey brings us closer to God and stronger in our faith. Let’s start with where you…
Read MoreEpisode 388 – Forgiveness, Fasting, and Giving; The Triad of Great Lent
As we prepare for Great Lent, it is crucial we forgive others. No matter what, if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. When we fast, without putting on a show, we learn to live as God wants us to live. When we give to others, we learn to put our treasure…
Read MoreBuddy Check!
We all remember being young at camp and excited for the adventures in the program. One of the most important tasks at the beginning of every camp experience was to identify our buddy. This wasn’t our friend, per se, but the person with whom we would share mutual responsibility. If our buddy was lost, we…
Read MoreReturn to the Lord!
On the Wednesday of Cheese Fare, the week before the Great Fast, the character of the day is Lenten. Although we have not yet begun the Great Fast, we are fasting from meat today as we turn our attention more and more on God. The daily services today (and Friday this week) are Lenten. We…
Read MoreDarkness Breeds Evil
When I was growing up, I used to hear the expression, “Nothing good ever happens after midnight.” As a teenager I didn’t agree. I would imagine the freedom of hanging out late at night without anyone watching. I imagined we could do anything we wanted without fear of being caught. What I didn’t understand was…
Read MoreThe Struggle Within
Saint Paul understood it well when he said, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” (Romans 7.15) We all ‘want’ to follow Christ, but we struggle to put in place those guarantees that would lead…
Read MoreEpisode 387 – Seeing God in the Least
When we are judged by God, He will judge us not just by what we do, but how we see. Do we see God in the faces of others? Do we see God in the least of society? That is the challenge of Matthew 25.31-46. It isn’t just about serving others. It is about seeing…
Read MoreCaught in the Middle
Over the centuries the Church has experienced a variety of political conditions. In certain eras the Church was welcomed, endorsed, and even subsidized by governments. At other times, the Church was exiled from public life. Through the rise and fall of secular rulers, the Church has stood for the truth of Christ, but has not…
Read MoreFrog in Boiling Water
As I was reviewing today’s scripture readings, I realized that Christians ‘back then’ were much more bold in their faith than we are today. Every day we read accounts of martyrs for Christ, the vast majority of them martyred in the first three centuries of the Church. It isn’t that they didn’t sin. They did…
Read More