When Jesus says, “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning” in Luke 12:35, I get two images from Tolkien’s The Return of the King. The first is of Minas Tirith— a stone fortress towering against the enemy realm of Mordor. I see Pippin the hobbit bumping between soldiers who are rushing to find … Continue reading Part Three: Belonging in a Kingdom
Read: Isaiah 9:2 & Luke 12:35-48 I stood partly in the rain at dusk tonight, a candle cradled in one hand, my phone in the other. The sky was cold and against it, the fire let off a Narnian glow. I snapped a few pictures but seconds later, a wind gust and raindrop snuffed out … Continue reading Hope is Not a Candle
November 8 I’m writing this at 7:30 on Tuesday morning. The polls have only been open for an hour, and I can’t try to guess what things will look like by the time you read this on Sunday. But I do know Sunday’s sun will rise on a new leader— elected or reelected. And Sunday’s … Continue reading King of This Tuesday in November
For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Cor. 6:16). As my church crawled out of quarantine, blinking in the May daylight, I had a run-in with … Continue reading Part Two: Belonging to a Person & People
October 11 These days, we need something worth rejoicing in that won't come down with COVID or lose an election or go out of style. We need something chiseled in stone that, when the world starts dissolving, we can stand on and say, "This will never die or lose or fade!" I've always pictured the … Continue reading The Book of Stone
September 13 I sometimes forget what it was like to go into Aldi without a mask, or to hug people and shake their hands and not apologize. I sometimes feel like the pandemic always was, is, and will be. But the only One to ever wear that title is Jesus. “I am the Alpha and … Continue reading Yesterday and Today and Forever
September 6 My family was supposed to be in Nashville last week, taking part in the Getty Sing! conference. We were supposed to be in the pews of the Ryman Auditorium, drinking in Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God concert and worshiping Jesus with people of different tongues and nations. Instead, we watched it … Continue reading I Wanted to be There
August 2 Before he was betrayed and driven to the cross, Jesus spent time praying for you. “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” “Holy Father, keep them in your name…” “While I was with them, I kept … Continue reading Be Encouraged: You Are Kept
July 19 Jesus stands as our example of holy anger that loves, restores, and worships. Cain's anger hated and killed. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at … Continue reading Let Jesus In and Be Like Him
July 12 “God intends for the whole world to be able to praise him. He intends for Zion to set an example of faithfulness for the rest of the world. Zion cannot do this when evil persons corrupt others.”[i] Bleating sheep and bellowing salesmen swarmed the temple. But really? God's house was empty. In the … Continue reading Jesus’ Anger Gathers and Glorifies
bethanyjlincks.com 