Rejoicing, Not as an Emotion, But as a Duty
I’m writing this blog posting with just a bit of a grumpy spirit. I’m dealing with some pain issues and trying very hard not to take pain pills. A short time ago, I was leaning over the edge of the hot tub sucking debris out of the bottom when I felt a huge CRACK in my lower-left…
Read MoreExcellent Behavior in Less-Than-Excellent Times
[Scary Thought Alert]You are being watched. The apostle Peter exhorts us (1 Peter 2:12) to keep our behavior excellent among the unbelievers. His logic holds that though they speak against us, they will see our honorable behavior and will glorify God because of it. Those of us who are Christ-followers, who walk with the indwelling…
Read MoreListen Well / Hear Well
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. Fess up! If you have kids you’ve performed that aria. Indeed, many of you read it with the melody playing in your head as…
Read MoreWhat’s All This Fuss About a Cross?
Reader Advisory: This week’s blog posting is a lengthy one. Find a comfortable chair and grab a full, hot cup of coffee before diving in. The entirety of Christendom is focused this week on the cross. I believe it is important for us to recognize on what, exactly, we are focusing. What follows is an…
Read MoreThey Are Not Adversaries – They Are Prisoners
Those of you who have followed my writings and speaking over the years will likely have heard or read my take on relationships. I believe we have only two types of relationships. 1. We have relationships with other brothers and sisters in Christ, other believers. We interact with them as brothers and sisters in Christ…
Read MoreExcept for these Chains
“Shelter in place.” “Stay at home.” “Essential trips and services.” These are the familiar messages that bombard our radios, televisions, internet streams. The public reactions are varied, as state upon state issues such executive orders and Subject Matter Expert advisories. Many had previously volunteered to self-quarantine, recognizing the necessity of doing so, while others marched…
Read MoreWhat do we do with the Old Testament?
I’ve reestablished my Goodreads account on the advice of a writerly friend, Tonya Kubo (https://www.tonyakubo.com). As part of that, I’m having to write a flurry of book reviews, and get them posted on the Goodreads site. I have in excess of a thousand books in my personal library. I won’t, however, be putting up reviews…
Read MoreA Christ-Follower’s Response to COVID-19
My normal blogging day is Wednesday, but this has weighed on my heart long enough, so this week, you’ll get both a Sunday and a Wednesday blog posting. I’m not anywhere near panic mode. I have seen so many crises come and go (SARS, MERS, Ebola), and I have observed that there are those who…
Read MoreOf Whom Shall I Be Afraid
I have a predilection for lists and repeated ideas or phrases. For example, shortly after becoming a Christ-follower in January of 1983, I began noticing a recurring phrase in my Bible, the phrase “in Christ.” Intrigued, I began keeping a list of all the places I found that phrase. (You can download this list from…
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