“Coveting” begins in a discontented heart.  We see greener grass in our neighbors’ yard, and we assume they have a better life.  This inner emptiness robs us of the joy we might otherwise find in our own yard.  A blessed life requires that we realize that we are always blessed, even when we don’t feel like it.

Telling lies in court is still a crime, even in our culture.  In God’s court, however, it is more than criminal.  It reveals a morally corrupt environment where the rich and powerful take advantage of those who cannot afford justice.  A blessed life, however, requires us always to ensure that truth is spoken when people are held accountable.

The war between haves and have nots is historically waged in every culture.  Broken cultures find it easier to take from one another rather than share with one another.  This addiction to things is an infection that is hard to cure. A blessed life, however, requires the opposite from us, to love one another rather than take from one another.

When sex is taken out of its God-ordained context of love, brokenness occurs in many forms.  When God created the human reproductive process, He intended sexual partners to remain committed to one another, so that children produced from their union could be raised in a context of love.  A blessed life requires us to honor the important role that love plays in our desire for intimacy.

Murder is the extreme case, when one person assumes the right to take another human life. Jesus teaches us that murder is born out of hate, and neither have a place in His world.  A blessed life requires us to avoid the destructive power of hatred.

People have changed in many ways, but families still form a core part of all cultures.  God’s story regularly works through families, and He expects people to honor that work.  A blessed life requires a respect for the roles of both children and parents.

We humans naturally divide our lives into sacred and secular categories, and sometimes these aspects remain separated.  God instituted the Sabbath, however, to ensure that His people continually kept Him first in their hearts and minds.  A blessed life requires us to live every day in the sacred presence of our Holy and Loving God.

What if God held us accountable to promises made in His name? What if He were listening to every conversation in which His name is mentioned? A blessed life requires us to remember that a Divine judge is a witness to every word we speak.

Unless God reveals Himself, we are left to imagine Him in all sorts of ways.  Thankfully, however, He did not leave us to our own devices.  In loving grace, He reveals Himself so that we can know Him truly.  A blessed life requires that we listen carefully to the God who acts and speaks in history.

Humans must worship someone or something.  It is part of our nature.  Without God, therefore, we worship versions of ourselves, but are we worthy of such worship?  A blessed life requires a God who is worthy of the role.

Lessons learned from a vacation that included "a thorn in the flesh"

Change, especially religious change, is never easy.  The tensions between faithfulness and innovation are immediately evident as the new church expands into unfamiliar territory.  God therefore works to make His will clear in that day and in ours.

When God calls His servants into a challenging mission, He does not abandon them.  His Spirit remains present, to ensure results that human efforts by themselves cannot produce.

History too often records conflict and tragedy when diverse religious traditions try to share the same space at the same time.  If the new community of Jesus is truly to bring these traditions together, then the main thing must remain the main thing.

For God to change a community, He begins by changing people.  Peter’s relationship with Jesus redefines his identity, and, as this relationship grows deeper, it changes his reason for living.  His experience of Jesus can inspire us to reconsider who defines us and what inspires our purpose.

God’s new directions are not self-evident.  He must inspire people spiritually to work outside of their comfort zones.  In this story from the early church, He stretches the boundaries of His people by calling His servants into new levels of service.

Good visions must provide a compelling reason for change.  Through two powerful visions to two different men, God forges a new path forward for those who choose to follow Jesus.

For centuries, many thinkers and educators have sought to convince us that we are nothing more than evolutionary accidents, biological and chemical organisms sharing a planet with other organisms more or less like us.  In this closed system, we struggle to find a meaningful life.  Faith helps us to see that we as humans do have a purpose beyond our biology and chemistry.

History records multiple attempts to confront and overcome injustice.  Some stories are more encouraging than others.  Those engaged in such efforts are often called to make extraordinary sacrifices for their cause.  Were their sacrifices worth the effort?  Faith provides a perspective that inspires us never to give up our fight against injustice and oppression, even when it seems that our efforts are in vain.

In 1965, the Byrds made these few verses of Ecclesiastes famous in a song that reached number one in America on the Billboard Hot 100.   In those days of change and chaos, people found comfort in this reminder, that “There is a time for everything under the sun.”  Faith gives us this stable point of view as we face our own tumultuous times