In God’s spiritual economy, grace is the currency. What I mean is that if we think about anything of value in the spiritual life, it always begins with God as the source. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or […]
God Gives Grace, To His Glory Read More »
There’s an old secular saying that goes, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” In other words, the first time you caught me off-guard and unprepared, which means you took advantage of my naivete; but the second time I should’ve known better, so that’s on me. Now, according to Holy
Drawing the Line Between Forgiveness and Abuse Read More »
At the writing of this blog, I am fifty-four years old. In the history of my life, I cannot recall experiencing so much rain in a single year. I feel like I live in London or something, or maybe Ireland. It’s unbelievable. There is a small pond across the street in a vacant field which
Why Won’t It Stop Raining Already? Read More »
I often teach about ‘abiding in the sphere of God’s love’, or more succinctly, ‘abiding in the sphere of God’. They are, in fact, the same reality, but when I add the word “love” to the idea, something wonderful seems to wash over my brothers and sisters in the faith. And it never gets old.
In Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, four times he borrowed a saying that was common at the time, “All things are lawful.” This was something that apparently the folks in Corinth, known for their gross immorality, would’ve understood as justification for licentiousness. This saying, “All things are lawful,” became a slogan for liberty. Their justification would’ve been that
All Things Are Lawful Read More »
Schindler’s List, the epic movie by Steven Spielberg, was purposely filmed in black and white. By contemporary movie buff standards, this seems like an odd choice. Yet, after experiencing it, I can’t imagine it being filmed any other way. The same goes for paintings. For example, Vincent van Gogh painted Cart With Black Ox, one of the
Between Black and White Read More »
I don’t always “like” having to write blogs like this one because it forces me to dive headlong into the ugly parts of Christianity, as they exist today. It is nonetheless part of my duty to the Spirit of the Lord who motivates me. On that note, please forgive me up front for missing the
When Christianity Becomes an Excuse Read More »
I feel sad. My heart aches. I’ll tell you why. I look around at those in this world and see them striving for all the wrong things. I watch as they invest everything they have of any value into the world’s system of thinking, in a sincere effort to “succeed”. Their hearts are far from
I haven’t written a golf-related blog in a while. I love golf because it is such a wonderful, rich metaphor for life, itself. Did you know that I have a whole series on this topic in one of my books on the North Christian Church website? You can find it here: Diary of a Journeyman – Volume 1:
Drive for Show, Putt for Dough Read More »
The American culture is intrinsically competitive. In fact, it was founded on the so-called democratic process, which implies elections. Elections, by definition, imply some form of competition between candidates for public office. America’s financial model is also competitive, being capitalistic. Where a winner takes the office in a democracy, a winner takes the market in
The Lesson of Anti-Exclusivity Read More »