“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in […]
A few weeks ago I visited a friend. It was an enjoyable visit. A few hours after the visit I suddenly found myself inexplicably wondering if I had said anything offensive. I analyzed the conversation and quickly determined that nothing was out of the ordinary. However, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that perhaps my […]
“As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time unless he eats, so it is with the inner man. What is the food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God. Not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our […]
Counselor: What’s the problem? Bart: For starters, I didn’t feel safe getting on the boat to begin with! Counselor: Why? Bart: Because I don’t feel safe on boats in general. And because I could see that the weather was bad (and getting worse). And we were all tired! Sailing while tired and sleepy is essentially […]
We had a secret meeting this morning. Secret? Yes. Secret how? The meeting was at 6a —> and thus it lurks in the shadows of the “social geography” of the day. To schedule a meeting at such an hour is to operate in a window of time that exists outside of the mainstream of public […]
Judah, son of Leah (Part I) The instinct to keep the shameful details of my story hidden was very strong. On some level, the decision to reveal the truth was (and is) a mystery to me. Certainly, there are moments when I wish people didn’t know, but ultimately I doubt I had much of a […]
Simeon (a.k.a. “The Rock”). An apostle. What’s Simeon’s story/track record? Good? Bad? What were Simeon’s credentials? Was Simeon qualified to be an apostle? Hmmmm… Simeon is writing to people who have OBTAINED something. What have they obtained? FAITH. They have obtained faith. What kind of faith? …Faith that is of equal standing with the apostles […]
Smalls says, “Y’all are my brothers! We’re family! You are my joy and my crown! I love y’all and I long to see y’all and to hang-out for days on end! I love how you’re standing firm in the Lord. You are my beloved friends!” Then Smalls says, “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche […]
I was chatting with my friend Justin this morning, and he was telling me that HE WASN’T FOLLOWING A BIBLE READING PLAN THIS YEAR! So of course I started composing an email to our Presbytery’s moderator and stated clerk to report this dereliction of duty. But before I could hit “send” on my indictment, Justin […]
Here’s the question… Why do the nations rage? Why do people scheme and plot? Why do people expend all their energy attempting to manage and manipulate? It’s vanity. It begets, at best, a fleeting and flimsy ILLUSION of control, and an ephemeral imitation of joy. People scheme and strategize. People scroll and take mooncalf counsel. […]