“Thoughts in Christ”

It’s never easy to reprimand somebody and to do so graciously. Everyone wants to be praised, and if not praised, then understood. Old people, specifically older men, expect to be justified. We know all too well the type:...

What is he saying? He is dead? How can that be? St. Paul is expressing something that shatters all logic, unless it is mere hyperbole—but he is dead serious. Rather, he is alive and quite serious. The crucified Christ is...

Every parish has them, praise the Lord. They are never heard, yet they hear all that takes place in the church. They rarely speak up at parish meetings or in the clusters of talkers who have so much to say about the pastor...

St. Luke, who had a gift for observing and recording human nature, capturing idiosyncrasies for his readers, offers us the contrasting characteristics of these sisters—Martha the extrovert, Mary the introvert. Jesus uses...

Our Lord Jesus points out the miracle of life’s renewal in a grain of wheat. The inanimate grain multiplies when it dies and is buried. Living things also hibernate. Now in the late autumn countless millions of cocoons hang...

Let’s contrast the ending of the conventional Old Testament [without the Apocrypha] with the conclusion of the New Testament. They are both presented above. The prophet Malachi predicted that Elijah would appear to Israel...

It sounds so obvious that you may wonder why the Bible would present such a platitude. It’s not a simple thing, however, to trust in the Lord with all your heart. We don’t always realize how often we trust others instead....

I’ve always been intrigued at what it takes for a person to betray a leader or a country. It’s not done on a whim or an impulse—as we see above, it took forethought for Judas to turn against Jesus, until “from that time he...

An ancient Hebrew proverb says, “Raising children is like peeling an onion. You end up with tears in your eyes, and nothing in your hands.” Well, maybe not always. But the spiritual truth in the sad prediction is that it’s...

At the poignant parting of the Lord Jesus with His disciples, He gave them a gift and a promise. He left them His special peace, and He promised that the Father would soon send them the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is His partner...