Serving Christ in México
Sometimes we meet characters in the Bible who occupy only a handful of verses. The multi-layered mosaic of their life is summed up in a few words – a few quick strokes of the pen. Such is the life of Anna, the elderly widow who caught a glimpse of baby Jesus in the temple with his parents and started telling the whole world that the Messiah had finally arrived.
Continue reading “Like A Sparrow in the House of God”
Listening to a book counts are reading it, right? Between washing dishes and running the hills with our puppy, I managed to get through a good number of audio-books this year – far more than I actually read. As with past years, my list of books for this year are a mix of theology, novels, and non-fiction, and I have not listed them in any particular order. Just ten books that I enjoyed reading and benefited from. Enjoy!
Continue reading “10 Books I Read This Year – 2022”
My aim in the past year on this blog was to write at least one blog-post every month related to the mission work here in Queretaro. However, not every post is an update per-se. Often, I write about some specific aspect or story related to our work, instead of giving a general update. That is intentional, not only because specifics are more interesting, but also because at times a traditional update can be hard, and boring, to write.
Continue reading “Year in Review – 2022”
Who’s in charge? Who has the power and position to influence the events of history and create change in the world, for better or for worse?
If you had asked that question of the citizens of the Roman Empire two thousand years ago, the likely reply would have been: Caesar Augustus. He was, after all, the most powerful man in the most powerful empire in the world. In addition, he was the man responsible for a whole range of positive change in the Empire. He ushered in the era of pax romana and his rule brought stability to a constantly changing government. New construction projects were undertaken at his command, and trade and commerce were allowed to flourish.
Continue reading “Caesar’s Census and God’s Sovereignty”
The promise of a son is one of the more prominent threads which weaves itself through the biblical story of redemption. Immediately after Adam, a “son of God” (Luke 3:38), disobeyed and fell into sin, God came to him with a promise that the seed of the woman would ultimately win out over the crafty serpent who had lured them into distrust and rebellion. A son of a woman would enter into combat with the great enemy of God and after being struck by his foe, the son would crush the head of the serpent and put an end to his power and influence over the world.
Continue reading “A Son on the Throne”
One of the fascinating things about crossing over into a different culture is thinking through how to live as a Christian in your adopted culture, and how that process sheds new light on living as a Christian in your home culture. As we encounter different cultural customs and celebrations, we have to work to understand what they mean and then, informed by the word of God, determine how we may or may not participate.
Continue reading “On the Day of the Dead”
King David was the highest authority in the land, overseeing a small, yet powerful nation. His responsibility was great and his tasks were endless. Internally, he had to both ensure the peace and unity of his palace and his country. Backstabbing, deceit, and insurrection were common among the ruling elites of Israel and David had to manage it all with wisdom and confidence. On a national level, his responsibility was to unite the diverse and often disconnected tribes which constituted the nation of Israel. On top of all that, there were the constant wars and skirmishes being fought on the borders against enemy nations.
Continue reading “A Quiet Soul”
This past summer we ran a week-long kids club (vacation bible school) in the neighbourhood where we are ministering and one of our goals was to follow that up with a weekly kids club. We were not quite decided on the exact format, but in the weeks that followed the kids club, we made sure we were at the sports court on Thursday afternoons with soccer balls, basketballs, chalk, and skipping ropes so we could play with the neighborhood kids.
Continue reading “Kids Club Continued…“
“I’m a good person for the most part.”
“My good outweighs my bad.”
These are common responses when people are asked about the morality of their life. Most of us consider ourselves good people, and yet we also readily acknowledge that there is an abundance of hate, violence, and brokenness in the world. How does that compute?
Continue reading “Book of Sins”
About three weeks ago we ran our first ever kids’ club event here in Santa Barbara. There was a moment during that kids’ club that will stick with me for a while. It was the third day of the club, which was two hours of games, crafts, singing, and a bible message, and I walked over to a corner of the sports court to take a picture. As I held up my phone and looked through the screen, I could see about thirty kids running about, a handful of parents watching from the bleachers, and all the volunteers overseeing the whole operation. I felt really grateful and silently thanked God for answering our prayers.
Continue reading “Kids’ Club”
The Rabbi's Burrito 