Mishpaha is the Hebrew word for family.

I am the firstborn of four children: Jax, Dirk and Jill. I do not know why, but I was always ashamed of having so many siblings. I just never really knew a lot of families our size. My dad had a sister, and my mom had two brothers, so I felt that theirs were the norm...

When Yeshua walked this earth, he had an incredible impact on thousands of people. Ultimately, he chose twelve in be part of his core group, and from those twelve, he invested most in three, Peter, James and John. These three were brought close into Christ’s inner circle, so that following His ascension, they were the emerging leaders of the nascent church.

I am a baseball fan, and one of my favorite movies is “The Field of Dreams.” As a kid growing up in Chicago, my family once made a trip out to the place where they filmed that movie. It was a lot of fun to be there as a kid and feel the movie come to life. And to experience the sport I played took on a new meaning. That, however, moves into a common question that I sometimes get asked as a missionary and pastor. People will occasionally ask, “why would you want to bring the Gospel to those who are not searching for the good news of Jesus Christ? Isn’t that kind of rude?”

1 Thessalonians gives us what we all look for, the will of God for our lives. It also gives a command from God. He commands us: in everything give thanks. In everything give thanks. Everything. Why? Because we serve a good God. He does no evil to us. He wants us to rejoice in our lives regardless of the circumstance. We (those that have Yeshua) have that blessed hope and our lives are a continual reflection of this.