Keith Shorter

Keith Shorter's encounter with Tony, wearing a T-shirt with a skull in the middle of a white cross, stranded with his family in the desert of West Texas, yielded an opportunity to help Tony trust in Christ.

Keith Shorter ponders the sight of a tall casino towering over a Boston community where a church is being planted: "The casino offers luxury and the dream of hitting the jackpot. The church offers the hope of the Gospel and love for people who live broken and empty lives."

Recounting a mother's description of fireworks to her blind daughter, Keith Shorter ponders seeing Jesus in heaven, when "all the earthly descriptions we have heard of Him will pale in comparison to the reality before us."

Obedience to Jesus, Keith Shorter writes, may not always make sense. It might even be costly. But apart from Jesus, "you may miss the supernatural."

Keith Shorter recalls his father's love for fishing and for helping the people he met -- and his family -- get to know Jesus.

When a follower of Christ makes a mistake or struggles with sin, Keith Shorter writes, God "doesn't pile on when He has every right to. We are people who somehow have incredible worth to the living God."

Physical and emotional scars can have value, Keith Shorter writes, noting that "God heals wounded people, then He uses their scars to help others who are hurting."

There's a lot to learn from Chick-fil-A, Keith Shorter writes in a call for churches to "strive to be the place in our community where people who are hungry for God feel welcome and wanted."

Keith Shorter begins a "year of firsts" after the death of his brother last year. Among them: the first Thanksgiving and Christmas without him. A Bible-rooted faith, he writes, can prepare you ahead of time "for the grief that will come gushing out."

Keith Shorter asks what you would do for two people who had never heard of Jesus in a country like Afghanistan, Pakistan or China.