DEVOTIONAL: As I read over this passage, I am struck by the anticipation of the Psalmist. At a time when I am overcome with schoolwork, the numerous other jobs to be done and with no end in sight, I have not been looking ahead with anticipation. There is one verse in the psalm that catches my feelings precisely; “Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you give us success!” Help me! (more…)

THIS WEEK’S THEME: Hosanna! Look, your king is coming

DEVOTIONAL: By the end of this week we will be waving palm branches and celebrating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus is coming! The season of Lent gives us the opportunity to make a space in our ordinary routines — a space in our lives into which we welcome God’s steadfast and transforming love. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Death bearing new life — a mystery for sure. Even though Jesus was talking about his physical death, this passage makes me consider my own state of affairs. What needs to “die” in my life? (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: Today’s text offers us a picture of Christ’s submission to God that leads to eternal salvation for all who believe and obey. In this text, Jesus lives into God’s reality and does not give up when worldly oppression bears in from every side. Instead of giving in, Jesus prays harder. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: One of the many gifts of my childhood was the priority my parents placed on church. If there was a service, we were there, and it was important to be quiet and attentive. I loved the singing most of all, but it wasn’t a chore to sit still through the rest. I giggle at the memory that we even unwrapped our occasional pieces of candy before church to be sure there weren’t sounds of crinkling plastic during the sermon. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: Francis Collins, an American-physicist and engineer, and also the head of the Human Genome Project, wrote a book about his work called The Language of God. He writes that, through his work and study of the intricate details and specifics of the human body including genes and DNA, it is clear that the mark of God has been written all over us. (more…)

THIS WEEK’S THEME: Whoever serves me must follow

DEVOTIONAL: Numerous times throughout the Gospels we hear Jesus command those who desire to serve him to “Follow me.” Usually this command is given to someone in a situation where leaving and following Jesus will cost them something. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: Today marks the first day of spring, the season of rebirth. During spring, the Earth’s axis is tilted toward the sun and daylight gradually lengthens. This begins the winter thaw, causing the earth to warm and new life to emerge. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: In The Message‘s interesting version of Ephesians 2:1-10, it talks about our old life and says: “you filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience.” I associate this with how polluted and contaminated our environment is becoming. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: As I sit down to write a devotional here in a library in Baltimore, I wonder what I will do for the rest of my life. What do I have to give the world that the other 200 people in this building haven’t already given? Over and again I come up short, thinking I have no place to go, nothing else to learn; that my peers have all done it better, or else I would have a job just like they do. I wonder what God has in store for me if everyone around me seems to already live the life I want for myself. (more…)