One of the most dramatic occurred some twenty years ago; I was about fifty years old. To the casual observer I was on top of the world. Our brand-new church sanctuary was bursting at the seams. We added new members every week. The congregation had very little debt and absolutely no doubt that their pastor was doing a great work.
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In Matthew 20:20-28 there is a telling incident about Mary. She went to Jesus and asked him if he would consider special treatment of her sons when he came into his kingdom—one to sit on his right and the other on his left. Jesus didn’t criticize Mary’s request, but when the other disciples heard it, they went ballistic with “Can you believe them?” and “How could they?”
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In his book Shattered Dreams, Larry Crabb wrote that it is hard to develop a personal relationship with an invisible God, one whose voice I never hear the way I hear a friend’s voice over the phone. We can read our Bibles and say our prayers but not have a sense that there is anyone out there with whom we are connecting. It can seem like reading any other book. ...
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A quick Google search of the above statement produced some 17 million results. You read that right, seventeen million! The statement struck me while reading through Haggai recently. The prophet’s work is limited to two chapters which you could read on a smoke break (I’m dating myself). Nostalgia shows up in the second chapter: Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it ...
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When I misbehaved, I was afraid of being rejected and scorned. When I became a Christian, I brought that same belief into my relationship with God. I was sure that the only way God would love me was being a “good Christian.”
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Have you ever seen a small child open a gift, only to wind up playing excitedly with the bow that was on the package? The problem is that he doesn’t understand the value of the gift he has received; he is unacquainted with just what it is that he has been given. We are just like that child when we find our souls thrilled by the prospect of a new ...
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This is likely one among many reasons the Joker is widely argued to be the best villain of all time. He has a timeless appeal as the master of chaos. It’s his unpredictability that makes him so terrifying, perhaps seen clearest in Heath Ledger’s Joker asking his victims the rhetorical question: “Do you wanna know how I got these scars?” before proceeding to tell a traumatic story usually resulting in ...
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Do hurting people need help? Absolutely and one of the promises God makes to us is that throughout life there will be pain; it’s just as inevitable as the need for air to breathe. There’s no doubt that we are more helpless than we often realize and more in need of burden bearers in our life than we’d like to admit.
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We live in a world that’s often full of anger, confusion and frustration, sometimes seasoned with moments of hope, love, and joy, and often both at once. Yet we hold on to this idea of perfection. Why? I believe that in the core of us is the DNA of the Cosmic Lover, pulling us toward that hope. Pulling us toward love without limits.
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“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”
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