After sleeping for a thousand years, art woke up in Tuscany at the end of the thirteenth century. The first real genius of the Renaissance was an artist named Giotto (“JOE toe”).  But he is most famous not for his sculptures or paintings, but for drawing a big circle”—-just a circle.. Pope Boniface VIII wanted to commission some paintings for St. Peter’s Cathedral,  so he sent a courtier around to find the best painter in Italy. The courtier asked all the artists to give him

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,   bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.   If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.   Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.   Do to others as you would have them do to you.   “If you love those who love you, what credit is tha

“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.”      Matthew 15:18 It’s soooo easy to condemn the sins—- of which we are not guilty—and make excuses for our our own sins.  But Jesus was always one to turn things up-side down and cause us to focus on the most important matters, especially when it comes to our bodies and lives. Christ was clear: what you  say matters—- and it  is an accurate indicator of what is in your heart. If y

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.   The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,   but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained

“ At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.   And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children , you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.   Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.   And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.   “If anyo

Genesis 39 “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.   The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.   When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,   Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in ch

A few years ago I read an article about a book by Erica Commissar about the importance of a mother for her infant child. I’ve always been told that the mother’s touch was essential for a child to develop and that some children actually die if they are not caressed, touched and loved.  But this book argues that the mom’s intimate presence with the baby is quite important for the first three years of the child’s development, in a way a man or father could never equal.  I neve

Everyone of us in this room has a dream….or at least a hankering and yearning for good things to come our way—-tomorrow, next, or at some point. We all have hopes for “something good” to happen.  It’s healthy to have “hope” for a better life and a happy heart.  Many of us work hard, pray even harder, and pine for rest, the pleasure of seeing our efforts result in a good life for us—-and for those that we love. Now that my sons are reaching adulthood, I talk often to them abou

As many of you know, many of these meandering thoughts I write can indeed seem obscure and perhaps “odd”. But the things I read,  see, or that  capture my imagination and cause me to meditate and wonder —especially when I am traveling alone, as I am this week in France—seem to often point to something inspired. I hope this little blog helps you see some common things a bit more “uncommonly”. The verse that caused my musing this weekend is from Psalms 87:2:  “The Lord loves th

Most of us reading this devotion have suffered over something or someone  over the past few months. Why does not God wipe out all suffering, pain, and the sources of all the suffering? Why doesn’t God do what the Marvel Comic, villain,  “ Thanos ” , does and simply snap his fingers and make us all holy, impervious to pain or disease or sadness— and thus end all this fuss about sin, etc. The answer is found, crazy as it sounds, in the love of God.  If I were able, I would not

An Ideal Community…. “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.   Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.   Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”  Hebrews 13:1-3, NIV) I read the last chapter of Hebrews this week and realized,  for the first time, that it offered a perf

“The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” – Psalm 14:2-3 “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And   if   your   right   hand   causes you to sin,   cut it off   and   throw it

Paul’s last words, to his beloved apprentice, Timothy: “ Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.   Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.   And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.   Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant t

“This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you,  who directs you in the way you should go.   If only you had paid attention to my commands,  your peace would have been like a river,your well-being like the waves of the sea.   Your descendants would have been like the sand,  your children like its numberless grains;their name would never  be blotted out   nor  destroyed from before me.”   Leave B

It’s been said that really are no “ordinary people” in the world.  I spoke at a funeral yesterday about one of those “not-ordinary”...