LIFELONG LEARNING We often hear about the importance of being a lifelong learner. As young people graduate they are reminded in commencement messages that their learning has not come to an end, but to a new beginning. What about you? What are you learning? Do you have a good book going? Do you have an avocation that keeps you stimulated? […]
THINK ON THIS: HOPE Have you read Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus lately? In the first chapter he encouraged the early followers of Jesus to really have the eyes of their hearts opened to a number of things. One of them was the HOPE of the Christians calling. Think on the hope that you have in Jesus. Christian […]
HELP YOU BELIEVE? The recent multiple shootings across our land sure help you believe… in evil, in wickedness, in profound brokenness. Death. Sudden. Brutal. Tragic. Senseless. We see it way to often. And we name what is behind it: evil. Such awareness of evil helps you believe that there must be something more to existence than the brief, unpredictable and […]
DRIFTING? DISTRACTED? How is your walk with Jesus going? Are you as close to him as you were a year ago? Or are you drifting? Are you distracted? Time and time again the Old Testament people drifted. What was supposed to be a close and personal relationship with a living and loving God became less and less important. They drifted. Time and time again the […]
SPORTS AS WORSHIP The NCAA basketball tournament is back. When it fell a year ago, I opined that the gods of this world were falling. Politics were in uproar, scientists were scratching their heads, colleges were sending kids home, financial circumstances were in chaos, entertainment venues were closed. With the return of sports… and the American worship of it… we in […]
GONNA GET TO SEE THEM This past week a number of my friends gushed excitedly about family members who, because of the rising numbers of vaccinations, they were finally going to be able to see. “We haven’t seen so and so for 12 months!” Here’s the interesting part. They were finally “going to see” family members they had regularly seen […]
GOD GENE? In any number of publications, you will find articles about a so called “god gene.” Scientists think they are finding evidence that there is a genetic predisposition toward being “religious.” What do you think about that? Is there a “religious gene” because religiousness at some point was advantageous for the human race? Is it from a mutation? Is […]
…of sorts… This past week I finished reading (listening to) Adam Grant’s book Give and Take. It’s not a new book, but it was new to me. The subtitle is Why Helping Others Drives Our Success. Grant begins with a very compelling discussion about who is most likely to succeed in life: givers, takers or matchers. There is a great […]
I heard it twice this week. Once from “the left.” Once from “the right.” Both on news shows.* “No pun intended.” Here is what is odd. For both of them the pun was intended. It was scripted, crafted, prepared, maybe even tele-prompted. If that is not intended, what is? It was a blatant falsehood—from both sides, both of which claim […]
Our congregation has begun a year long emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians confess to being perplexed by the work of the Holy Spirit. They say they understand the idea of God the Father and God the Son, but the idea of God the Holy Spirit mystifies. That problem may be more about modesty than mystery. […]