Simone Biles is considered by many to be the greatest gymnast of all time. At the Tokyo Olympics her performance in qualifying rounds wasn’t up to her usual standard, and then Simone withdrew from the all-around competition, citing “medical issues.” Conversations among sportscasters and other gymnasts describe the intense pressure
A recent Facebook devotional showed an aerial shot of the Zion Church building, a perspective we don’t usually get. It was a reminder that our perspective on ministry has been challenged by the pandemic. When Jesus delivered the Gadarene demoniac from a legion of demons, his neighbors did NOT trust
News and the Christian Many of us have a favorite source for news, and a favorite medium (newspaper? TV? On-line feed?) Whatever your news source (and it’s important to carefully choose your news source), most of that news pertains to things beyond your daily life. It’s important to have your opinions on
When the two disciples of Jesus were sadly trudging toward Emmaus two days after his death, they couldn’t recognize Jesus as the stranger who approached them and “explained from the Scriptures all that the Messiah had to suffer.” Later that day Jesus appeared to a group of his followers and
This month marks a full year since the pandemic first shut the doors of the Zion Church building. (March 15, 2020). Who would have imagined we’d still be dealing with Covid a full year later? We’ve all grown weary of it. We really want to “get back to normal”. You
“Jesus Is on Our Side” How often the spokesmen for certain “causes” will appeal to Jesus’ teaching to support their cause. Liberals or conservatives, left-leaning or right-leaning, centrists or extremists, can use bits and pieces of Jesus’ teaching to “prove” the value of their agenda, or the “rightness” of their
How hopefully the year 2020 started. Even the number boded well – 2020, the year when everything would come into focus. Then three huge defocus events – a viral pandemic, civil unrest, a contentious election. We found ourselves saying, “When will things get back to normal?” With the turning of
A young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. “Lord, I can’t go on,” he said, “I have too heavy of a cross to bear.” The Lord replied, “My son, if you can’t bear its weight, just place
Jesus’ first disciples lived in unsettled times. Just before he ascended, his disciples asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” These men were Jews, raised on the stories of David and Solomon and the greatness of Israel as a free and independent
One of Jesus’ disciples, Simon, was a patriot of Israel, and hater of all things Roman. Another disciple, Levi, was a tax collector, meaning he worked for the Roman government. These men were at political extremes from each other, and should have hated each other. Yet they each became followers
