For the last few days, I’ve been watching two developing news stories that are both difficult for me to absorb. One is the disaster in the gulf that claimed at least 11 lives and now threatens the ecosystems, economy, and quality of life of our Gulf Coast. Can’t imagine what it will mean if the […]
So much of the Bible seems to be about God testing our willingness to trust Him. It was an issue in the Garden; in Job’s troubles; in Abraham’s willingness to offer Isaac; in our response to the Good News of what Christ did for us… and at each step of our journey home… Why does […]
Imagine a different scenario for our first parents: What if Adam and Eve had come away from the temptation angry with God for withholding the knowledge of good and evil from them, but with none of the forbidden fruit’s after taste in their mouth? Imagine instead that, after talking to the Devil, they even agreed […]
Whether God is all we need surfaced in our discussion of “Christian ideas that can drive you crazy.” Seems to me that this question shows again how, by a simple shift of perspective, or motive, a statement can change meaning. All of us would probably readily affirm that, when God is all we have, we […]
Knowledge without wisdom can make us naïve, foolish, or crazy. Have been thinking about this after rediscovering a book by Henry Cloud and John Townsend that is titled 12 Christian Beliefs that Can Drive you Crazy (Zondervan 1994-1995). The first false assumption that they list is “It’s selfish to have my needs met”. In a […]
Satan asked the question of Eve to plant a seed of doubt in her mind. But seems to me that the same question, “Has God said?” can be asked to clarify our faith. What if, hypothetically, I were to say to you, “My car has some brake issues that my mechanic says are very dangerous. […]
Do we agree with those who say, “Every promise in the book is mine?” If so, in what sense do we mean that? Do we read the Bible until something jumps out as being a phrase we want to claim for ourselves? If so how do we keep from claiming to have a Word from […]
I knew a man who had suffered one way or another over the whole course of his life. When he was old, I remember hearing him say that, by experience he’d learned that “The Devil always overplays his hand.” Thought of his comment during this last week. Was wondering, “What was Satan thinking when he […]
When you enter the city, you will see a man with a jar of water. Follow him to the house where he goes. Tell the owner of the house the Teacher needs a room to have a meal with his friends. He will show you a large, furnished upstairs room. Make preparations there. I wonder […]
In matters of truth and morality, some of us tend to think in black and white. Others see in shades of gray. The first group is more inclined to use words like always or never. The second is inclined to say, “But sometimes. . . .” The difference can easily affect the way we see […]
