Easter is the most important holiday in the Christian faith because it is the day when Jesus defeated death, resisted the oppressive forces of Empire, and proved God’s reign by returning to bodily life.  But a significant part of the story that we don’t always think about is the importance of Jesus revealing himself to Mary Magdalene. It is especially interesting because the risen Christ didn’t actually need a messenger. He could have gone directly to his disciples from the get-go, revealing

How many of us can say that if we were imprisoned, we would be inspired to write to fellow Christians with encouragement and love? It may seem hard to grasp, but for Paul, it was second nature. While imprisoned, Paul pens this letter, encouraging the church in Colossae to keep their eyes on Jesus and to keep following the righteous path. How? Paul offers them a simple solution: bear good fruit, be strengthened through God’s power, have patience in God’s timing, and give thanks. These are all dif

The spirit of discernment is powerful. Discernment is the spiritual discipline of assessment. It is imperative, in this chaotic time, to discern for ourselves who the false prophets are and whether the messages we are receiving are from God. How do we do this? If I am trying to figure out whether a pastor or faith leader is speaking truth, I always look to the fruit. What fruit is this person producing? Is this preacher producing the fruit of kindness, compassion, love, and justice? Or the fr