"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 the power of the Holy Spirit." - Romans 15:13 There are two symbols that I am drawn to in a sort of unnatural way: hearts and peace signs. I don’t know when this fascination began, or why, but I am inextricably attracted to both. Honestly, I think it is the Word of God living within me. My yearning for both peace and love is a function of my understanding that ou

We know these words from the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer that Jesus gave to the disciples, and to us, as a guide. These words became forever meaningful to as a result of a former pastor’s sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer. To consider that God’s plan is to make earth as holy and perfect as heaven is very powerful. Today we seem far from that plan for us—that makes me sad, and gives me hope at the same time. In these days following the mass shooting in Orlando, other acts of

“ As the Father has loved me , so have I loved you: Continue (abide) in my love.” - John 15:9 As the time drew near for Jesus to be arrested and crucified, He said some of the most amazing and indescribable things to His disciples – things that came from the depth of His heart of unequalled Love. Jesus encouraged His disciples (and all of us) to abide in His love and He also told them how they could do this. He continued: “If you keep my commandments you shall abide in my lov

“….I do not call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you for all things that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you.” John15:15 I can hardly imagine how the disciples must have felt. Christ was calling them “friends” and sharing heavenly secrets with them. It must have been awesome to hear the word “friends” coming from the lips of Christ. Everybody probably has at least one frien