The BackdropIn Jesus' day, the Pharisees was a group of religious leaders who hated Jesus for a lot of reasons. In fact, the Pharisees were the ringleaders behind Jesus' crucifixion.Click here for a downloadabl...

The BackdropIt makes sense for the two greatest commandments from God to deal with love (love God, love others), because love is God's main thing. Just who are God's people to love? You might say everybody, and...

The BackdropPicture this scene from the Roman world of New Testament times: A son is born into a poor family with a huge financial debt. The son's parents pass away, leaving the son with the debt. Because the c...

More than Emergency Backup?Are you tired?Knowing the reader audience as I do (I've been around youth ministry a long time), it doesn't matter what time of day this is being read, I'm probably running an 85 perc...

There's a biblical rhythm that's even engrained in pop culture: You reap what you sow. It's a maxim that God wrote into the DNA of the universe, which might explain why Scripture expounds on this truth from man...

We tend to minister out of life experiences. These experiences include our education, the latest books we've read, our spiritual mountaintops—when God's hand was evident, as well as our valleys—when...

As I type, I am beside my wife Dana who is in a hospice hospital bed in our living room, journeying through the likely final weeks of our fight with breast cancer.I don't feel strong. I don't feel resolute. I'm...

What is God teaching you today? If you haven't thought lately about what God is teaching you at any time, let alone today, it might be time for some spiritual recalibration. Don't be embarrassed by admitting a ...

This past summer I had the pleasure of hiking in Glacier National Park in northern Montana. Mountains jutting out of mountains. Glacier-fed emerald lakes tucked away in glacier-carved basins. Brightly colored w...

For three years, my wife and I have been fighting her recurrent breast cancer. We have a funny moment every October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month. We catch each other's eye and say: "We're awareâ€â...