John and Steph's Houston Mission

Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. ( Matt 22:37-39 ) People - among the best things about being on a mission. People - among the hardest things about being on a mission. People - endearing and exasperating, funny and frightening, uplifting and depressing, warm and aloof, often within the same person and within a few minutes, depending on what they are experiencing in their lives. And that is key. What is happening with someone at any given time? We are often so focused on what is happening in our own lives that we don't consider what might be happening in the lives of those with whom we are interacting.  I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of people in my life from different backgrounds, different ages, different careers, different countrie...

Original Post on September 10, 2025                                      Last Update on September 17, 2025 I plan to update this post from time to time as things come to mind. Feel free to check back now and again to see what's been added.

If you have not seen the streaming series The Chosen , you might consider watching it. I'be really enjoyed watching it. It presents many of the events recorded in the New Testament Gospels, and the people involved in those events, in a way that makes them relatable. There is admittedly a significant amount of artistic and interpretive license taken in the storytelling, so, of course, you should always return to the scriptures themselves, and read, study, ponder and pray about the actual accounts and give those the higher precedence. I bring up the series because there are two scenes that I find to be particularly interesting and have wondered if they would, or rather hoped that they would, cause people to stop and reflect on the assumptions and approach they often take toward scripture in general. In Season 2, Episode 1, Thunder,   Jesus and his followers have been in Samaria, successfully preaching the Gospel. The priest of the Samaritan town invites Jesus to teach in their s...