I was walking along the Via Dolarosa in the Old City of Jerusalem when a man strode past me, trailed by a little boy, crying out to his father. "Ab-BA! Ab-BA!" This is not how you actually pronounce "Abba" as we see it in the Bible. Compare it to shouting, "Dad-DY! Dad-DY!" The father stooped to speak softly to his son, then sent him back to his mother. This modern-day scene compares to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. In agony as he awaited his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus cried out to...

One of my favorite practical faith sayings is if we aren't living messy, inconvenient lives, we're not following Jesus closely enough. I want to explain this further, as I think the saying on its own could be misinterpreted. The heart of the comment is Jesus invites us out of comfort into trust. Comfort implies order, consistency, coziness, and little risk-taking. Jesus has bigger things in mind for us. For example, inconvenience. In the Good Samaritan parable, the priest and the Levite...

Are you creative? A study showed that people who think they are creative, are creative, while people who think they aren't, are not creative. The results indicate a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our view of ourselves can restrict our creativity. Jazz pianist Allen C. Paul argues we are all creative because we possess the imprint of our Creator. Paul expresses his creativity largely through music, but he believes all people of all ages possess creativity. In this episode of the Practical Faith...