Author: John Braun

A thought: Scripture alone

Scripture is the revelation of God—his message from above to all of us here below. Its primary message is the gospel, and that’s the power to open our under...

A thought: The Ides of March

Perhaps Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar, brought the idea of the Ides of March to English speakers. Without his play, it seems that March 15 might not be...

A thought: Change

We spent a couple of days in the northern part of Wisconsin. The leaves were green at home when we left. When we arrived, the trees were mostly green except for...

A thought: Our Father

“Our Father in heaven.” So Jesus taught us his prayer. It’s actually our prayer. It begins, “Our Father.” Yet we say it so often it might have become ...

A thought: The difference

I’m looking out my study window this morning. The grass is green. The birds are flying from branch to branch. The robins are hopping on the grass to find lunc...

One ordinary life

Christians often live quiet, humble lives, but their lives matter. How do we measure the value and importance of a Christian life? We gravitate to those who hav...

A thought: Good job!

Good job and thank you! I thought this but couldn’t say it to everyone I thought should hear it. As I write this, we have been asked—mandated—to avoid unn...

In God’s hands

As I write this thought, we are all concerned about the spread of a virus that has already killed thousands. Events and responses change day to day and sometime...

A thought: Outing death

“Don’t forget, you’re going to die,” the message on the screen read. It was from an app that sends five e-mails each day with the sober reminder that de...

A thought: The Christ

Christianity is not just a label, a category, or a space to be filled in for some pollster. We are named after Christ. The shepherds heard the angels identify t...

A thought: Partners

I admit that sometimes when I read the epistles of the New Testament, I easily skip over the first couple of verses. In those verses, Paul, who wrote most of th...

Heirs of heaven

John A. Braun What does God see and know about us humans? We often think that he has forgotten us, but God sees all that we have done, all that every human has ...

Walk by the Spirit: Part 7

Christians have dual citizenship. We are children of God and part of his kingdom, yet we still call this world home. John A. Braun We got off the plane and head...

Hope

John A. Braun The presence of Thanksgiving at the end of every November helps us to pause and count our blessings. That exercise will be repeated this year as w...