Monthly Archives: December 2020
“All the Time in the Universe—and Then Some!”
A twelve-step reading this morning reminded me that God has been doing a lot of construction work in (and on) my life. However, now is the time for building on a new, more solid foundation.
Initially, I did not find this terribly encouraging. Terrible, yes. Encouraging, no. “After all,” I said to myself, “I’m almost seventy. How much more building can even God do in such an old guy?”
And then a very unexpected and encouraging wave of Truth swept over me. God is not limited by the years of my life. In fact, God is not limited by time at all! God has all of eternity to work on me. Even if my entire earthly life is limited to dirt work and foundation laying, it might be a life well-lived. God is not in a hurry. God took seven days to create the universe. God took four-hundred years to get Israel out of Egypt. Why shouldn’t God take seventy years or so to work on me.
So, as an active worksite, I need to be patient. Bring on the bulldozers, the pile drivers, whatever equipment the Divine Workman wishes to use. I’m a mess, but then so is every worksite until the building is finished.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. . . . 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3)
Apparently, the author of 1 John realized that, even though we are now children of God and that we are called to holiness in the here and now, we are not a finished product just yet.
Be content to be fragmentary, dear reader.
“Star Trek, Birth Times and Places, and Jesus”
Honestly, I’ve never been much of a Trekkie. I say that with a little bit of regret. “Star Trek” no doubt deserves its fame. Anything or anyone that so many people adore deserves at least a closer look from me. This is not a comment on our current national leader, though it might still be applicable.
Because I am not a Trekkie, I did not realize that Captain Tiberius Kirk had an Iowa birthplace and a specific birthdate. In fact, I never really considered the matter. But, yes, as a matter of fact, Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, does have a birthplace and birthdate: Riverside, Iowa and March 22, 2228. This was pointed out by a friend’s Christmas newsletter. She and her daughter visited the town where Captain Kirk would (eventually) be born. The city of Riverside, Iowa (population 993, according to the 2010 census) even has a statue of Kirk, complete with his radicallyfuture birthdate.
This set me thinking, as most things do, about biblical and Jesus stuff. Honestly, we don’t really know precisely when Jesus was born. The early church began celebrating it at about this time of year, probably in order to compete with the Roman Saturnalia celebration.
Nonetheless, I am glad that we celebrate Jesus’ birth this time of year. We need some light and peace and joy and kindness this time of year. This is especially true in the northern hemisphere, when the days are cold and short. It is even more especially true in this year of Covid-19, economic and political chaos, and the usual private sorrows and tragedies that we all experience. Most of us do not have a story that reads like a typical Christmas newsletter. Everything is not fine. We struggle.
But then, there comes crashing into our stories this story about God invading this planet. Not at the head of an army, not in power. No! God came (so the story goes) as a fragile baby in a manger, a baby that had to be nursed and changed, a baby that no doubt sometimes cried, the song that says he didn’t, notwithstanding.
Yeah, I know: It is a strange story. I can see why many smart people don’t believe it. I don’t know if I’m smart people or not, but I do believe it—at least, most of the time.
The writer of the letter that we call 1 Peter, who is traditionally thought to be one of Jesus’ original followers, wrote the following:
“1Pet. 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (English Standard Version, italics mine)
If these verses are taken at face value, they make startling claims about Jesus Christ. Before the world was created, God’s Son was on his way to be born in Bethlehem. He was also on his way to die for the sins of the world in Jerusalem. Furthermore, he was on his way to be raised from the dead.
It is an image with which to conjure. God knew, his Son knew, when they created the world that one day the Son would be murdered for the sins of the humans that God would create. If this is true, I am amazed that God went on with creation at all. Why not leave keep things as they were—tohu wa vohu, waste and chaos? Above all, why create humanity? After all, we ourselves are tohu wa vohu, waste and chaos, a good deal of the time and in many ways. If Peter got it right, God knew that we were going to go wrong, and he had a plan: sending his Son. Why on earth would the God of the universe come this God-forsaken planet?!
Maybe because we thought it was a God-forsaken planet?
I told you that it was a strange story and that it is difficult to believe. But there are millions of us who do in fact believe it. That, of course, does not automatically make it true. However, it might give unbelievers some pause for thought. And, for sure and certain, we who are believers ought to pause and think. And we ought to pause and thank! For one even greater than Captain James Tiberius Kirk has come to this planet.
Merry Christmas, all!
“Keep on Dancing!”
“for the righteous falls seven times and rises again . . .” (Prov. 24:16, English Standard Version)
Last night, while watching “The Nutcracker,” one of the dancers seemed to stumble and fall. He stayed down and looked up at his dance partner. I was not sure if it was part of the dance routine or not. In any case, he made it part of the dance.
I wonder if there isn’t a wonderful lesson in that for me. How do I use my many falls? Do I incorporate them into the dance that is my life?
Or perhaps I am not the one to incorporate my falls into the dance. Perhaps it is God who is The Great Choreographer. Perhaps God is the one who weaves the weakness that is me into a graceful and meaningful dance.
Falling is painful to me and to others. We do not dance alone. Awareness of the dangers of falling, exercising, and practicing in order to avoid falling—these are very important in our lives, and important for others in the dance too.
But just because I’ve fallen doesn’t mean that I have to give up on the dance. No! It is God, who is not only The Great Choreographer, but also Our Great Dance Partner. He is the one who enables us to keep on dancing.
“What Gets Your Attention Gets You”
“Be careful, in doing battle with this guy, that you don’t become just like him.” (Advice from my exceedingly wise father-in-law, when I was a young pastor. A man in the church I served was stirring up a lot of dust.)
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.” (Words from a wise old hymn)
The first four verses of Psalm 36 focus on the wicked person. It is not a pretty picture. But then, in verses 5-9, the psalmist makes a dramatic pivot. Suddenly, he is no longer focusing on the wicked person. No! Instead, he is focused on the sweet goodness of God.
“Psa. 36:5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD.
Psa. 36:7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.” (Psalm 36: 5-9, English Standard Version)
Someone has said that whatever gets your attention gets you! This could suggest that if we focus on wicked people too much, we become the slaves of those wicked people. Perhaps we also become, in some measure at least, like those wicked people. The possibility is that we become like whatever or whomever we look at for a long time. If this is true—and I suspect that it is—we need to be very careful about our focus. Yes, we need to recognize and admit the wickedness of the wicked. Perhaps we have areas of our lives where we are wicked and don’t really want to change. That needs to be taken seriously.
However, we shouldn’t camp out with wicked people, even when those people is me! We need to move on. The psalmist eventually gets his eyes off the wicked and instead decides to focus on God. And what sort of God does the man see?
Well, for one thing, the psalmist speaks of a God who is loving. Now I hear someone say, “Wait a minute! This is the Old Testament! Isn’t the God of the Old Testament a God of wrath, while the New Testament God is a God of love?”
I would say that I hate to break the news to you, but the truth is that I’m glad to break the news to you: God’s love is all over the pages of the Old Testament. Yes, there is also a lot of violence and wrath, but there is a lot of love too. It all depends on where you look.
Notice that the love of the LORD reaches the heavens. God’s love is high, like the heavens, overarching the world. God’s love is high above the wicked, high above the righteous, high above everyone and everything.
And then, there is God’s faithfulness. It reaches to the clouds. I am writing this meditation on a cloudy day. It is a wonderfully encouraging thing to think on a penetrating, dreary day—the first day of winter—that God’s faithfulness, God’s consistency, reaches so high. It is a wonderful thing that God is loving, but if God’s love is not consistent, such “love” wouldn’t do us much good. We need a God who sticks with us.
And that is the sort of loving and consistent God that we do, in fact, have.
“Follow Your Heart? Well, maybe!”
You have no doubt heard the advice to “follow your heart.” It is good counsel, except when it isn’t. Let me explain.
Some of us, at many times and in many ways, do need to follow our hearts. We have a feeling, a hunch, an intuition, or a dream in our hearts. We need to go with that! Self-doubt may masquerade as humility, but such doubt is not always the best guide.
However, a lot depends on what sort of heart you have, as well as what your heart is telling you at any given moment. Sometimes, I’ve followed my own heart, and caused a great deal of harm to myself and others. Maybe I’m unique in this regard, but I seriously doubt it.
Psalm 36 warns about the danger of following our hearts when they are not in the right place. At least, that is the way I would take the psalm. However, there is a problem in translating verse 1.
Here’s the deal. A literal rendering of verse 1 (verse 2 in Hebrew) would go something like this: “An utterance of rebellion to the wicked in his heart.” There are many problems with translating this verse, and I won’t go into them all here. Both you and your guide could easily get lost, never to be found.
Because it is such a strange and difficult verse, many modern translators try to smooth it out, but to my own way of thinking it seems to be best translated as I have done above. Several things should be noted.
First, the word that I’ve translated “utterance” is a Hebrew word that usually refers to an authoritative speech. Usually, such authoritative speech is said to come from God or a prophet. But, if I am properly interpreting the word in its context in Psalm 36, it means that the wicked person has an authoritative utterance of transgression (or rebellion) emanating from his very heart. An oracle has taken up residence in his very heart. Unfortunately this “authoritative word” is all about rebellion!
Whoa! (Or should I say, “Woe!”)
To say that a person has an oracle of rebellion, an authoritatively wicked utterance set up in his heart, is a chilling reminder of how wicked the heart can be. And, of course, such wickedness in the heart has consequences in the outward life. Thus, the wicked person—presumably following the oracle of his heart—goes off the rails. Shoot! He doesn’t even believe that there are any rails! So, Psalm 36 continues as follows:
“Psa. 36:1b there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
Psa. 36:2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
Psa. 36:3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
Psa. 36:4 He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.”
Derek Kidner, in his 1973 commentary on Psalms 1-72 (Tyndale series), writes the following:
“The opening words, lit. ‘An oracle of transgression’, make a startling heading to the portrait of this dedicated sinner. It is as though transgression itself were his god or prophet. . . . While a believer sets his course towards God himself, this man does not take even ‘the terror of the Lord’ into account. This is the culminating symptom of sin in Romans 3:18, a passage which teaches us to see this portrait as that of man (but for the grace of God) rather than of an abnormally wicked type. All men as fallen have these characteristics, latent or developed.”
Kidner goes on to point out that people who have wicked hearts that lead to evil actions also experience “. . . a wholesale reversal of values, leaving good powerless to attract, and evil to repel. Cf. Alexander Pope on a possible series of steps towards this:
‘Vice is a monster of so frightful mien
As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;
Yet, seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.[Vol 15: Psa, p. 165]’”
Sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it? If it doesn’t sound scary to you, you should really be scared. If you’re scared, then be sure to guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23)! It is only the guarded heart that should be followed.
“Don’t Want to Know! Might Have to Change!”
Might Have to Change!”
“Know thyself.” (The Delphic Oracle, as quoted by Socrates)
“The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know over what they stumble.” (Proverbs 4:19, English Standard Version)
I have a confession: Sometimes, I don’t really want to know. Perhaps I should explain.
I do want to know all kinds of things. How old is Carol Burnett? What does “OG” mean in text-speak? How many people in America have earned Ph Ds? What is the Spanish word for “find”?
On and on my curiosity goes,
and where it stops, nobody knows.
But, in point of fact, I do know where my curiosity stops. I don’t really want to know certain things about myself. The knowledge itself would be unpleasant. And then, the real unpleasantness might begin. Why? Well, I might have to change. There is a psalm about people like me—Psalm 36. I wrote about it in very general terms in yesterday’s blog post. Here is the verse that I especially want to have a look at today:
“For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.” (Proverbs 4:2, English Standard Version)
This verse could be taken in either of two ways. It might mean that the wicked person flatters himself because he has pulled the wool over eyes. He says to himself, “I’ve covered my tracks! No one will ever know!”
On the other hand, the verse could mean that the wicked person thinks so much of his cleverness that he is no longer can detect his own evil. “Who, me?! Never!”
There is no way to be sure, based on the Hebrew, which way to go with this one. Therefore, I’m going to take the pathway that Yogi Berra indicated: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” (Of course, Berra also is reported to have said, “I didn’t really say all the things I said,” so perhaps it was someone else who spoke of taking the fork in the road.)
If this verse means that the wicked person has covered his tracks so carefully that even he can’t detect his wickedness, that raises a chilling thought for me. Am I wicked, and don’t even know it?
But there is an even more disturbing question: What if I don’t even want to know? And the truth is that, often, I really don’t want to know.
And why is that? I might have to change! Who wants to do that?! I am reminded of what Bilbo Baggins said about adventures: “Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!”
It may, in fact, be true that coming to grips with my own wickedness is the ultimate adventure. However, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be nasty disturbing uncomfortable things. And then there’s being late for dinner.
Of course, none of what I’ve written here is new or revolutionary. We all speak of people who have blind spots. Everybody else can see what they can’t. However, there is one person that I know who has no blind spots at all: me!
“In pretending to find his own iniquity and hate it: this suggests that he acted in such a way as to make sure he would not find it. Some people make a show of trying to find their iniquity, but they are afraid of finding it, because if they do find it, they will be challenged: ‘Give it up . . . [The sinner] pretends to seek it here, seek it there, but always he is afraid of finding it. His search is a sham.”
Then Charry comments, “One wonders if Augustine is not reflecting on his own struggle to give up sex prior to his baptism.”[1]
[1] Ellen T. Charry, Psalms 1-50, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2015), 191-192.
“Aware of the Wicked, But Focused on the Good God”
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you focus on the positive or the negative? The evil or the good?
Perhaps we should be biblical and focus on both. In fact, there is a psalm that, in just twelve verses, deals with both the wickedness of some people and the goodness of God—Psalm 36. I have been listening to and reading this psalm for the past week or so. The psalm may be short, but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up in depth and power. I plan to spend several days blogging about it. Here is the psalm in its entirety”
“Psa. 36:1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
Psa. 36:5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD.
Psa. 36:7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.
Psa. 36:10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.” (Psalm 36:1-12, English Standard Version)
That’s it—the whole thing! So, let’s begin by making some very general comments.
This psalm begins by acknowledging the presence and seriousness of sin. And Psalm 36 makes no bones about it: Wickedness is a serious matter. The psalm acknowledges that there are people who have become so devoted to evil that they have reached the point of no return.
Fortunately, in my judgment, such commitment is rare. Many people really do want to change, but don’t know how. They need a helping hand. I hope that I am one of those people. You probably are too, or you wouldn’t be reading this post. Take heart!
However, the psalmist recognizes that there are people for whom there is very little hope. How can they be identified? Primarily, says the psalmist, they can be identified by the fact that they have become so committed to an evil lifestyle that they don’t even want to change. They are too busy plotting evil to have time to plot a different, better course.
But then, in verse 5, the psalmist abruptly changes his focus. Now, he turns his eyes from the wicked to God. He says certain things about God that, if they are true, would make the most committed atheist want to believe in such a God. I do believe these things about God, but even when I was an atheist, I would have wished that I could believe in a God like the one described here.
Go back over verses 5-9. Read them slowly. Think about what they say about God. If God really is like that, oh my!
It is necessary to acknowledge that there are evil people in the world who really do not want to change. But it is also good to acknowledge that there is a God who is good to the very depth of God’s character, and that God’s goodness leads him to be good to all God’s creation. And such a God probably doesn’t need to change.
So, you want me to take out the word “probably” in the preceding sentence? Okay!
And such a God probably doesn’t need to change. Maybe we are the ones who need to change. We should change our focus from wicked people to the Good God.
“O, Ordinary Night”
DTEB, “O, Ordinary Night”
I like the Christmas song “O Holy Night.” In fact, I like it a lot.
However, I wonder . . .
I wonder if, for most people of that time, it wasn’t just another night. Most people were probably tired. Some were hungry. Some were worried. Some went to bed angry. Some couples were involved with some serious snuggle-bunnying. Others were fussing. Perhaps, if most people on the night of Jesus’ birth had written a song, it would have been entitled “Bah! Another Ordinary Night!”
However, I think that there is something very comforting about thinking of the night of Jesus’ birth as “ordinary.” Now don’t get me wrong. I think Jesus’ birth itself was something Special. Indeed, I believe that his birth was way beyond Special—even “Special” with a capital “S”.
But to think of “. . . the night of the dear Savior’s birth” as being ordinary recalibrates my attitude toward my own ordinary days and nights. Am I sure that ordinary days and nights even exist? Perhaps every day and every night are full of God’s glory and that, therefore, all days and nights are therefore holy. This is, in fact, what I believe with growing conviction day by day.
Perhaps the word “ordinary” should be banished from our vocabulary. At the very least, we probably shouldn’t throw it around as much as we do.
Have an extraordinary—and holy—day and night!
“A Good Kind of Laziness”
I am not a mind-reader, but I know what some of you are thinking. If you were paying attention to the title of this post, you’re thinking, “What!?! Laziness isn’t ever a good thing!”
Well, generally I would say “Amen” to that. However, it occurred to me this morning that there is laziness, and then, there is laziness. Let me explain.
We get Kroger fuel points, so when we get gas, I try to take all the gas cans I gather, so that we can get as much bang for our buck, and as much gas for our buck. My wife’s car was almost out of gas, so I went out late last night to put gas in her car out of one of our money-saving gas cans. It was only about 8:00 p.m., but that is late for me. It was cold, the gas cans are heavy, and the joint pain in my hands told me that I needed to power through the pain and the cold and the weight and the lateness of the hour, and just get this done.
There was a catch: I forgot to make sure that the gas cap on the five-gallon can was off. Do you have any idea how hard it is to pour gas out of a can when you haven’t taken off the cap? Short story long, I ended up spilling some gas on my old jeans. All this was the result of hurry and bad laziness.
My wife hates the smell of gas. I’m not all that fond of it myself. So, in spite of my desire to go to bed, I decided to do a load of laundry. But I hated just doing my gas-soaked pants, so I decided to throw in some wash cloths and towels and other hot water things.
You already see where this is going, don’t you? Yep! Bad laziness strikes again! Last night, after the hot-water things had been washed, I threw them in the dryer, turned it on and went to bed.
This morning, I got up and went downstairs to take the dog outside. I decided to be a good scout and fold the nice dry, clean clothes. “My wife will appreciate that,” I told myself. My self-congratulations were exceedingly premature. The clothes were dry alright. It was the clean thing that didn’t turn out well. As I folded the clothes, I discovered that they all smelled like gasoline.
So, I need to do them again as soon as my sweetheart gets up, if not before.
As I put the “clean” clothes back in the washer, I was invited by God’s Holy Spirit to think about what I had done and why. Was it that I like to conserve water and laundry detergent? Well yes, that may have factored in a little. But the bottom line was this: I was inattentive and lazy. The inattentiveness and laziness with the gas can cap had cascaded into laziness doing the laundry.
And then this thought occurred: If I had been productively lazy, none of this would have happened. Good laziness means slowing down, paying attention, and doing things right the first time. That is the best way to be lazy. And it’s a lot less work that my usual form of laziness.
Make it a good lazy day!
“Addicted to the Past”
“ Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.” (English Standard Version)
Addiction comes in many forms. One of the commonest forms is addiction to the past. In fact, it is so common that it isn’t usually recognized as an addiction. (If addictions are common enough, we baptize them and rename them “normal”—but they’re still addictions.)
It doesn’t much matter whether we are looking back with longing or with regret. Too much looking back is not a safe thing to do. I discovered this one time when I looked in my rearview mirror for too long and rear-ended the car in front of me.
What is wrong with looking back? In a sense, nothing. In fact, looking back at the past to learn from it can be very helpful. And sometimes, we all need to take a stroll down memory lane, just for fun.
But, at any age or stage in our lives, we mainly need to focus on the present and lean into the future. Looking back too often or for too long can cause more than automobile accidents. Such addiction to the past can cause life wrecks as well. Most things in the present moment are either enjoyable or endurable. It is when we begin importing the past (“It has always been like this!”) or the future (“It will always be like this!”) that we get into trouble. Such imports come with high tariffs.
The Bible teaches us to learn from the past, but not to spend too much time there. The Bible is mostly concerned with new things that God wants to do in our lives and in our world. God will and does work with addicts, but God refuses to live us in our addiction. Maybe one of the reasons why so many of us miss what God is doing is that we are looking back too much. It is hard to see things when you’re looking in the wrong direction.
Or, as my wife once said when I was reminiscing too much, “Honey, the past is a nice place to visit, but you can’t live there!”
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- “Even a Sliver of Light” April 9, 2024“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:6, English Standard Version) I missed the total eclipse yesterday. There were a number of good reasons for this, but […]
- “The Process in Miracles and the Miracle of Process” March 11, 2024“2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids […]
- “The Power of Encouragement—Even for Old People” March 10, 2024“But encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’ Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you.” (Hebrews 3:13, New Century Version) Yesterday, I was walking at a nearby park. There was a large group of young people some of whom were running while other young people […]
- “Endurance” March 10, 2024“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, English Standard Version) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us […]
- “The Limits of Non-Judgmentalism” February 24, 2024“Matt. 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. Matt. 7:2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2, English Standard Version) This morning, in my virtual 12-step meeting, we discussed the topic of judgmentalism. There were many wise […]
- “Delighting in Being Told What to Do?!?” February 23, 2024“Psa. 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures […]
- “Character is the Real Lesson” January 19, 2024I am often confused about what lesson I’m really supposed to be learning. For example, this morning I was trying to knock out several Spanish lessons. My intentions were a lot better than my internet connection. I’ve done three lessons. Or rather, I’ve done two lessons. One of them I did twice because the internet […]
- “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked” January 1, 2024Each year, I try to come up with one word or a short phrase for what I intend to work on in the upcoming year. 2024 is “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked”. What?!! What does that even mean? So glad that you asked! Jesus said to his disciples, “Why do you look at the speck […]
- “Searching for the Noble One” December 26, 2023My wife and I were reading Luke, chapter 2 on Christmas Day. Luke 2 talks about the shepherds being told to look for this very special child—in fact, this King—in a stable. I prefer the word “barn”. I grew up on a farm. I know what a barn is. A stable is entirely too biblical […]
- “That Don’t Impress God Much” December 14, 2023DTEB, “That Don’t Impress God Much” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” (Song by Robert John Lange and Shania Twain) Micah 6:8 (MSG) “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be […]
Recent Comments