In our culture it is interesting to note who is held up as a strong person. It could be the elite athlete, the bold politician, the person following their dream despite all obstacles. Culture tends to promote a radically individualistic, independent form of strength. In contrast, the Bible promotes a dependent strength. King David writes that “the Lord is my strength and my shield. . .” (Psalm 28:...  Read More

As Mother’s Day approaches I thought I would share a few traits I have learned from three remarkable mothers in my life--my mom, my wife (mother of our five children) and my grown daughter, mother of three. It's my hope to "honor moms" as God commands (Exodus 20:12).First, all these women believe Jesus is most important. All three live lives surrendered to Him. My mom made sure to read us the Bibl...  Read More

DEALING WITH GRIEFAll of us face loss at one time or another. We might lose a job, a marriage or even a child to death. Grief is the process or journey through which we heal and find wholeness again. The poster boy for grief in the Scripture is the man named Job. In a brief period of time he lost his children to death, wealth, health and the respect of his community. Most believed he must have don...  Read More

One of the most common struggles people have is worry. So many play the “what if” game? What if I don’t have enough money for retirement? What If I never meet the right person to marry? What if my spouse leaves me? What if I am messing up my kids? What if my kids get hooked on drugs? The list goes on and on. So often worry feels like weeds in the garden, you pull one out and another pops up. It fe...  Read More

Today millions will gather in churches across the country for Easter. Some will go for Easter Egg hunts or other special events. Hopefully most will go to remember the premier miracle of Jesus. Yes, He opened the eyes of the blind, gave the lame the ability to walk and fed thousands miraculously but the greatest sign of the ministry of Jesus is the Resurrection. No one else has ever predicted thei...  Read More

Across the country millions will celebrate Good Friday, the somber reminder of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. What are the messages of this sobering day?One, the first message of Good Friday is the seriousness of sin. Sin is brutally deadly. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. There can be many faces of this death. If you steal from your company, the wages of that sin could be ...  Read More

In Fairbanks many of us enjoy the Golden Days Parade put on by the local Chamber of Commerce. It’s the largest parade in Alaska with about 100 floats and celebrates Fairbanks gold rush history. Various organizations and local politicians put together floats. Thousands line up the streets to cheer them on.The parade makes me think of another celebration that happened two thousand years ago in Jerus...  Read More

The world of the sisters Mary and Martha came crashing down. Their beloved brother Lazarus was deathly sick. They had sent word to Jesus, the miracle working Messiah, their good friend, but for some reason he did not come. Lazarus died. Jesus was absent. The combination of negative emotions was overwhelming—shock, disappointment and even anger with Jesus, sadness, and crushing grief. Most of you k...  Read More

In John 6 there is a remarkable story that is told about Jesus feeding a crowd of thousands. He takes a kid’s lunch and turns it into a miraculous buffet. Specifically feeding 5,000 men, and who knows how many women and children? This is a stunning miracle that gives us several thoughts to grab hold of.One, for the Jewish crowd this miracle would have drawn their thoughts back to manna in the wild...  Read More

In John 5 there is a paralyzed man who has gone to a place that has a reputation for healing. But he has never been healed. As a matter of fact, he has experienced his paralysis for thirty-eight years—clearly a chronic condition. Jesus, the great healer, goes to him and asks a startling question “Do you want to get well?” Part of me thinks well of course he does, he’s been disabled for 38 years - ...  Read More

In John chapters 3 and 4 Jesus interacts with two very different people. I had always thought of them individually but author Timothy Keller proposed in a book that we should view these two interactions together. First, he has a powerful conversation with Nicodemus, the ultimate insider. This man is a pillar of his community. He is Jewish, part of the chosen people and probably looked down on us G...  Read More

Our world is so dark spiritually. Even a short time spent looking at the news and social media is a quagmire of human brokenness, corruption, and depravity. Depression is rampant. We all need some hope. Fortunately, the Scripture says that God is a God of hope. The Apostle Paul writes “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by th...  Read More