There is a fascinating story of the friendship between Jesus, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus found in Luke 10 and John 11. In Luke, Jesus and his disciples are invited to the home of Martha and Mary. Martha gets distracted preparing for her guests. Mary on the other hand is sitting at the…

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. – Hebrews 11:6-7 (ESV) The Bible gives us a standing invitation to draw near to God, to love him with everything within us, to seek his…

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. – Jesus (John 10:27 NIV)  Unless you’ve learned something about shepherds and sheep you mightn’t think this is a verse about intimacy, but it is. I saw an incredible object lesson on this in a YouTube video: There are sheep grazing in…

“I have many servants, but I have fewer lovers.” – God Holy Spirit whispered this to Carol, our founding pastor, years ago. It has never left my mind since she shared it. When I first got involved in ministry in my mid-twenties I was primarily motivated by true devotion to Jesus. He had given his…