CVV Ministries

In the blackness of Sunday morning, the prodigal opened His eyes and murmured softly, “I will arise and go to my Father, and will say to Him, ‘Father, I have borne the sins of

Never Alone (April 11, 2025)

Left to ourselves, what we know of forgiveness would soon disappear. Left to ourselves, acts of mercy would soon drown in the ocean of self centeredness. Left to ourselves, what li

Grace While We Wait (April 04, 2025)

A gospel song from long ago gathered the hope of millions into a yearning vision of peace: “Someday, a bright new wave Will break upon the shore; And there'll be no sickness

Multiplying Grace (March 28, 2025)

It never was a straight line thing, this love we call the grace of God. It circles and surrounds, embraces and includes, until the throngs that praise God’s name are far too vast

Beyond The Windows (March 21, 2025)

Those the world calls saints weren’t typically the brittle, stained glass figures of our pious imagination. The reason their stories are still told is that they trusted God more

By Grace Through Faith 9March 14, 2025)

We can’t make ourselves more loveable to God by years of good behavior. And yet, because of grace, we seek to do what pleases Him. We can’t earn even half an hour in heaven by

Grace So Amazing (March 07, 2025)

No one can grasp the grace of God unless God teaches him, embraces him, and holds him in an unexpected kindness. There’s no intellect so vast; there’s not a mystic so devout th

Grace And Safety (February 28, 20250

The gospel is only as good as the God who asks us to believe it. If He’s the disappointed, vengeful deity we have pictured in our frightened imaginations, then we do well to hide

The Unexpected Gospel (February 21, 2025)

A muscular young athlete, bench pressing massive iron; stonemasons, deeply focused, chiseling the capstone for a tall cathedral spire; a driven young executive, burning midnight oi

Practicing Grace (February 14, 2025)

It’s not called “practicing” for nothing. On some great future day, the liberating, life affirming grace we each receive from Jesus will also be the grace we give as freely t

Grace Goes On (February 07, 2025)

If you’ve ever been forgiven; if you’ve been held when you were wrong, or bitter, or confused—you know the grace that never can repay the giver. So we surrender to the good

Out Of The Depths (January 31, 2025)

“When I’m deep in a hole, lower a rope, not a shovel.” The last thing we need when we’ve dug ourselves profoundly into pain or confusion or sin is more of the same. Our bes

No January Audit (January 24, 2025)

It’s a scene played out 10 million times in the 30 days since Christmas: “You shouldn’t have . . .” “But I didn’t get you anything. . .” “I didn’t hear we were ex

Grace Before We Pray (January 17, 2025)

That impulse in our souls to pray—to find our knees; to stammer out the words—grows from an early, dim awareness of just how much we need the grace of God. We pray because we c

Grace Will Lead Us Home (January 10, 2025)

Like all the stories Jesus told, this one comes very close to home. We justly celebrate the prodigal. He finds himself among the pigs, then soberly concludes that he should go back

Unresolved (January 03, 2025)

The diet lasts a dozen days. The treadmill hasn’t spun 10 miles. The Bible sits where it was left, unopened and unsavored. We grieve the effortless unraveling of all the goals

Love Came Down (December 27, 2024)

This painful year has made us clear on what we want for Christmas. Though Lexus and Mercedes Benz are sure we want a gleaming ride with giant ribbons on the roof, we have no miles

What The Angel Really Said (December 20, 2024)

Ten thousand earnest Christmas pageants offer us some cherub child, dressed as an angel, stepping forth to utter words that sound well nigh impossible. “Fear not,” he says, “

Against All Odds (December 13, 2024)

It isn’t only doubters who bemoan the passing year. Believers also crouch against the onslaught of the news. Tragic wars that never end; the end of good and gentle folk; the dull

The Eagerness Of Love (December 06, 2024)

An old regulation from the era when most people traveled by train included this puzzling requirement: “When two trains approach a crossing both shall stop, and neither shall go a

With Gratitude, Believe (November 29, 2024)

It is likely the oldest question humanity has ever asked: “What must we do to perform the works of God?” And for millennia, honest, searching people have provided their own

Hope Takes Flight (November 22, 2024)

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” The poet’s words from long ago ring true each dawn. It may be finches perching on the feeder; it might be pigeons

Good News Arriving (November 15, 2024)

We are not alone . . . Depending on how you see the universe, that thought could bring you comfort—or deep terror. If you view everything beyond your fence as threat, as somethin

When Grace Finds You (November 08, 2024)

The mystery is that grace still finds us, hidden well beneath the cellar stairs—angry, broken, sinful, sad. When we’ve crawled into our painful cave to lick our wounds or plot

With Open Hands (November 01, 2024)

Nothing in all the world is as wonderful as a gift. It may be the sunrise, wrapped in rose and gold, delivered to our eastern window. It may be the stick figure drawing by a three

Greater Than Expected (October 25, 2024)

As four year olds, we squabble over things we say that we deserve—first down the slide; the largest piece of chocolate cake; the undivided attention of our parents. At fourteen,

Nothing We Did (October 19, 2024)

Before we ever learn to speak or find some syllables of thought, we learn that how we’re loved depends on how we live. As infants, we adapted to what brought us comfort and atten

Baptize Us Anew (October 11, 2024)

Every day beside the Jordan, can you hear the “hallelujahs”? Can you hear the joy of angels in their vast, euphoric choir as you give your life—again—to Jesus and walk down

The Grace That Stays With Us (October 04, 2024)

Grace is rarely just a moment; more often, a long season; and ideally, your forever reality. We focus on the moment when a person comes to faith in Christ as though that were the s

A Friendly Sort Of Grace (September 27, 2024)

We search for friends with whom to share the deepest joys we know. Our happiness is multiplied by those who join our gladness. But friendship rests on more than witty fun or shared

A Better Image (September 20, 2024)

At least once a day, we want the truth about ourselves. Whether it’s that first, unflattering glimpse of pajamas and tousled hair, or that last, nervous glance in the office wash

Released From Fear (September 13, 2024)

Fear builds around us prisons only we can see. We peer out through the bars of damaged memories and foolish choices—walled in by concrete years of dark regrets. And we assume the

Trusting Grace (September 06, 2024)

The Bible doesn’t say, “By grit you have been saved through effort: this is your part. It is your gift to God.” But tragically, many who say they believe in Jesus hold this o

Beyond Tomorrow (August 30, 2024)

A hit song many years ago plaintively asked the question on millions of minds: “Will you still love me tomorrow?” The fragility and impermanence of human love has chorused thro

The Question That Remains (August 23, 2024)

“Do you want to be healed?” At first, it seems one of the world’s most foolish questions. What person, paralyzed for 38 years, wouldn’t leap at any chance for healing and r

Where Happiness Awaits (August 16, 2024)

Contented? Not likely. Vast majorities describe themselves as discontented, always seeking for what’s missing. Entire industries are engineered for keeping us that way. Algorithm

An End To Vengeance? (August 09, 2024)

Deep seated in each wounded heart is passion to return the hurt, to even the score for how we have been wronged. Our quest for vengeance is as natural as breathing, or thinking—o

Three Missing Words (August 02, 2024)

Social media memes and reels solemnly declare that the hardest three words to say are the words “I love you.” Acknowledging our affection and commitment to another person—spo

Nothing Better (July 26, 2024)

When the last kind word has vanished from our lips; When the last rich gift has left our bank account; When the last abandoned child has finally found a home—we still need grace.

Morning Has Broken (July 19, 2024)

When we’ve been wounded by the spitefulness of others, it’s grace that quiets our reactive hearts and calms our angry tongues. We remember being forgiven, and so we can imagine

Outside And Above (July 12, 2024)

The great illusion at the heart of our unhappiness is the fantasy that we can solve our brokenness and foolishness. A hundred self help manuals urge us to discover new, untapped po

Deep Cleaning (July 05, 2024)

Sometimes it seems all humanity is obsessed with removing stains from clothing, teeth, and even furniture. Ten thousand products invoke our shame if teeth are not their “whitest

A New And Better Life (June 28, 2024)

If you believe your life has been rescued and redirected by a power greater than yourself, you live differently. One of the most frequent criticisms of the Bible’s teaching abo

Without A Cause (June 21, 2024)