By Rose Shetler, director of annual giving and operations manager DEVOTIONAL: Does life sometimes feel like a wilderness, devoid of joy and comfort? What are the things that hold you in captivity? And where is God when life hurts? In today’s passage, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking to the people of Judah who were taken … Keep reading »

As a follower of Jesus and recipient of God’s grace, I need to be aware of, and intentional in broadening my circles of influence, circles beyond my comfort zone. Circles extending up, down, to the left and to the right. And may it be in those circles that God chooses to use me to proclaim and extend God’s grace, freely.

Perhaps faithfully stepping to our own collective beat in this day and age will require less focus on what we are saying or not saying, and more focus on whether we are listening or not listening.

The deity we aspire to follow does not turn to violence, instead we are called to walk a path where we can be mocked and harassed and hurt, and to do so bravely.

Despite our circumstances, there is much to be thankful for and God deserves that pause whenever we are presented with a blessing.

Jesus willingly humbled himself, and he even went down so low that he offered himself to die for our sins.

Confidence. We know it when we feel it. We know it when we see it in others. But where does confidence come from? For the writer of Isaiah 50, his confidence comes from knowing the Lord, from serving the Lord.

By Joanna Epp, a junior environmental science major from Newton, Kan. THIS WEEK’S THEME: Blessed THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURES: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 21:1-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66; Matthew 27:11-54   DEVOTIONAL: For many people, Lent is a time of fasting from something. From social media to meat, people choose to “give up” all sorts of things. However, it … Keep reading »

Daily my Lazarus is restored to life when I see restoration of prairies, Environmental Protection Agency’s super fund sites being cleaned up and people growing their own food.

No matter how low we sink, once we turn to God for help, we are no longer alone. Instead, the dark places and moments in our lives offer us an opportunity to enter into a conversation with a living God of forgiveness.