He Loves UsJesus had the same amount of time as everyone else, yet he was never in a hurry. He took the time to notice people, even the ones others overlooked. You feel loved when you’re noticed. It feels good. Just study his life and you see him loving on the most unexpected people.Jesus loved the outsiders: Almost everyone was poor in first century Israel. They lived hungry, never knowing what i...  Read More

Ezra 10:1-4Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly.  Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now t...  Read More

He’s Vulnerable like UsAsk any recovering alcoholic and they’ll tell you before you claim victory one day at a time, you must resist the temptation to drink one hour at a time. Even one moment at a time.Overcoming the temptation to choose the wrong is a battle of moments for all of us. When faced with what to do, we too often do what we want, regardless of the consequences.We know we should love e...  Read More

He Understands UsEveryone you meet has a fascinating backstory. Just ask them about it. Where did you grow up? Who most influenced you? What factors shaped your path? What’s important to you? What do you love?Jesus grew up in northern Israel. His people were regular folks, living mostly insignificant lives. In fact, nobody expected much to come out of Jesus’ hometown.Nazareth felt like a first-cen...  Read More

He Grieves with UsEveryone moves through grief differently, but we all suffer, and on our own timetable.When Jesus and his family returned home from burying his father, he likely felt the sting of death like never before. We don’t know how old Jesus was because the Bible doesn’t give us these details. There’s a silence in the story—much like the silence that can be felt when there’s an empty place...  Read More

He Walks with UsSometimes when you feel free enough to travel down unexplored roads, you feel a little lost. It’s a necessary step to find new paths. Sooner or later, that flutter in your chest subsides and you get your feet back under you. Nobody likes to feel lost but we like where it leads us.Once Jesus joined two confused guys as they walked home from Jerusalem. They engaged in a lively conver...  Read More

Ezra 9:3-15When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled.  Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering.  But at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garm...  Read More

He Gets Us: Jesus Walked Our RoadsWhat keeps you up all night? What fear endlessly circles in your brain and doesn’t let you rest? You can’t shut off the feelings of dread. You can’t quiet the “what ifs?” Perhaps you’re heartbroken over a failing relationship. Or worried about a mortgage. Or waiting on a diagnosis or facing an impossible choice. The night has never before felt this long or this da...  Read More

He Gets Us: Jesus changed the narrativeSometimes Jesus doesn’t meet our expectations.When he showed up in the first century, people expected him to liberate them from an oppressive government. They expected him to be intimidating and powerful and usher in a new age and way of life. How else do you fight for justice and peace?Instead, Jesus’ approach was upside down. Instead of conquering, he talke...  Read More

He Gets Us: Jesus was a social influencer.Jesus told great stories. More than just for fun, telling stories was his special strategy for driving change. His stories are like a slow drip into our souls; a powerful, subtle way of changing our minds, then our hearts, then inspiring a revolution.Once a whole hillside of people sat for days just listening to Jesus’ stories. Usually Jesus incorporated h...  Read More

He Gets Us: Jesus welcomed women.To be a woman in Jesus’ day meant you were invisible.Outside your home, no man was allowed to talk to you. In the temple, you could observe holy happenings, but never participate. Your witness didn’t count in court, you couldn’t receive an inheritance, you were never taught to read. Your opinion didn’t matter.Jesus broke the chains that held women in bondage. He ta...  Read More

Ezra 9:1-2Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites.  For they have taken some of thei...  Read More