by David Wahlstedt | Mar 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Saturday must have been a long and dark day. Not only did they hide in fear of their lives, but even worse, they grieved deeply. Jesus was gone. His disciples had watched the soldiers carry him off to his execution the day before. Now it was Saturday, their...
by David Wahlstedt | Mar 10, 2021 | Uncategorized
The resurrection account in Mark’s gospel begins in the usual fashion: it’s dark on Sunday morning, women come to the tomb with baskets filled with spices to tend the body of Jesus, they are surprised upon arrival to see the stone has been rolled away, an angel...
by David Wahlstedt | Mar 1, 2021 | Uncategorized
It’s been said that motion is the great American virtue, and waiting is the ultimate un-American act. If you doubt it, consider how you deal with checkout lines. Well, consider me as I checkout the checkout lines in my most recent trip to Uganda. I found myself...
by David Wahlstedt | Feb 28, 2021 | Uncategorized
One of God’s most effective transformation tools is a season of waiting. In fact, it seems that God delights in imposing a time of waiting as preparation for those He intends to use. Joseph sat in a dark prison cell for ten years before being called out to...
by David Wahlstedt | Feb 17, 2021 | Uncategorized
This morning’s Lenten devotional was a familiar story: Jesus quiets a storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat with his disciples. What makes this story so remarkable is that Jesus exercises his dominion over the forces of nature, even when the...
by David Wahlstedt | Jan 28, 2021 | Uncategorized
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.” When King Herod...
by David Wahlstedt | Jan 19, 2021 | Uncategorized
On my most recent trip to Africa, I ask one of my Ugandan friends why he never got angry at all the crazy taxi and boda boda drivers who are constantly cutting in front of us and hugging us out of our place. His response was simple: What will this change?” A...
by David Wahlstedt | Jan 12, 2021 | Uncategorized
Lectio Divina (translated “divine or sacred reading”) is an approach to the Scriptures that sets us up to listen for the word of God spoken to us in this present moment. Lectio divina refers to the ancient practice of divine reading that dates back to the...
by David Wahlstedt | Dec 9, 2020 | Uncategorized
Have you ever noticed the number of questions found in the gospels? We have Zechariah’s request for assurance from the angel Gabriel about the son promised he and Elizabeth, “How will I know that this is so? (Luke 1:18); Mary’s question of Gabriel, “How can...
by David Wahlstedt | Oct 4, 2020 | Uncategorized
When I was in elementary school, my family was in church every time the doors were open. That’s a bold statement to make but true none the less. In fact, not only were we there every time the doors were open, we were there even when they were not open –...
