Matthew TwoSix:ThreeNine

If you were at the 12:00 Easter service at Westside Christian Church you would have witnessed our worship pastor baptizing his son at the end of service. He climbed in the baptistry with all of his clothes on after the final worship song of the service. His son didn't know he was going to do the baptism, he thought the kids ministry leader was doing it.  After he completed baptizing him, he gave his son the biggest hug while the church applauded. It was one of those where a kid jumps in the arms of the parent. It ends up being a full body hug.   I thought it was a perfect ending to Easter. The pure love of a father for his son, raw and real, right before our eyes. The same love and joy God shared after Jesus was baptized. Matthew 2:17 says, "And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'"  God's love for us is the same. Because of Jesus' death on the cross and His defeat of death with the empty tomb...

Happy Easter! This Easter week was just different at the SeaPort. We had quite a few ships in and many that will stay for Easter. One of the ships was getting loaded for most of the week and some of the crew came to Anchor House for some R&R. They shot pool, played basketball, got something to eat, and took advantage of the WiFi.  The final night the ship was in town, some of the guys spent the entire afternoon and evening with us. They had such a great time. As they got hungry they ordered a couple of double cheeseburgers, a great American classic.   Not long after, they ordered a couple of more double cheeseburgers. I didn't think much of it, these guys work hard and maybe they were really just hungry. But then they asked for them to be wrapped up for takeaway. Not long after, a few of their shipmates showed up at the center. They too ordered double cheeseburgers. Theirs were ordered for takeaway too.   After I left for the day, the impor...

The other day, when I was typing grave into my phone, it autocorrected it to grace. At first I didn't notice. When it caught my attention, I realized the significance of such a subtle change. With the switch of one letter the meaning of the message had completely changed.  A grave has a certain finality to it, right? It's the "final resting place" for a human being, for a person's body. It even has in stone the dates of your birth and death etched into it. Our way of saying "The End".  But Jesus overcame the finality of the grave. He changed it from a period at the end of a sentence to a comma. After Jesus died on the cross and was placed in the tomb, I am certain His disciples felt the finality of death. They felt the confusion of losing this man that was changing everything. They felt the weight of the loss of this person. It was over. Period. From the grave came the ultimate act of grace. Death on a cross turned into salvation for all. ...

My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways, - Proverbs 23:26 The concise message of many of the Proverbs is powerful to me.  The invitation above is simple and to the point yet has significant depth. It is a transactional exchange. We give our hearts and in exchange we delight in His ways.  Seems pretty simple, right? The proverb starts with, "My son…" Simple and easy to glance past to the rest of the Proverb. However, it is significant because children have a special place.  They are dependent on their parents to support their most basic needs.  Food, shelter, clothing are just the tip of the iceberg. Parents provide protection and educate children in the ways of the world. Parents love their children in a very special way. God establishes that bond as He calls out to us and makes no doubts as to our relationship.  We are not only children, but His children.  He asks for not part of our heart, but the whole thing- even that...

This past Saturday I got the chance to catch up with my friend at breakfast. We connected months ago over grits, of all things. I learned he really didn't care for grits. Turns out his parents used to make him eat them quite often and in many forms. As he has grown older he's made the conscious decision, he's had enough grits for a lifetime. On the other hand, I really enjoy grits. They are a wonderful breakfast food with butter, salt, and pepper. For dinner, you can't beat some good shrimp and grits. I have a recipe for jambalaya grits that will put a smile on anyone's face. It is like jambalaya meets cheese grits. Yum! My friend and I joke about grits everytime we see each other. I offer him some and he politely refuses. Of course, I respect his wishes and don't give him any grits. How do you offer someone grits? Do you insist they eat and like them because you eat them? Do you put them on their plate anyway? Do you treat them differently bec...