Have you ever wondered why the three wise men are included with most manger scenes, even though they visited Jesus and his parents more than a year after his birth. Well, I don't really know the answer, but I have noticed that there is something that ties each element of a manger together, and that thing is God's provision.

Have you really considered what it means for God to be close to you? That's the main thing that we celebrate at Christmas: God being around us. So, that got me to thinking. If God is around me and you - like all the time - then that should start to have some influence on us. His presence is the greatest of presents.

The benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven do not start when we die ... the benefits of eternity begin whenever Jesus becomes our Lord.

Bad news seems to be on every news channel we find. It is exhausting. But there is good news that does not simply make us laugh in the midst of all the bad news ... it lifts us out of the bad news. It changes our life journey.

We all are feeling the emotional drain of the pandemic to some degree - for some it is severe. An Easter Scene on the Road to Emmaus is a helpful reminder of how we can support one another to find hope.

Patience is one of the core strengths that comes from God. Sometimes we need to be patient with a difficult person, and sometimes we need to be patient through a difficult time. Patience helps us to get things "right" rather than merely "right now".

Whenever we have times of difficulty, whether with an individual or to a society as a whole, we wonder if God is angry. We wonder if his wrath coming upon us. God's wrath is a reality, and Paul's letter to the Romans helps us to properly understand it.

The parable of the Good Samaritan could be viewed in a lot of ways, but at the heart of the message is a contrast between a person who was prepared to love, and others who were ill-prepared. Religion should not prepare you to be religious, but it should prepare you to love.

Whenever there is a widespread crisis, people feel that their lives are out of their control. This is understandable. In such a crisis, Christians bear the tangible message of the God who is ultimately in control, who loves lost people, and who compassionately ministers to them. Compassion can't be seen if Christians lock ourselves in our houses.

It is common for us to look at the appearance, history, or facts of a person, and then construct a whole biography. In doing so, we might show preference to one person over another. But the people of the Kingdom of God are all new creations - our past and appearance do not define our value, but rather the beautiful spirit that now dwells in us. Judgment looks at a person's history ... mercy forgets their history and looks to their future!