Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
We were made for conversation. This realization comes in the first hours of birthing and never ends. Every child who grows into successful adulthood will have started with a mother’s tender gaze, cuddles, and whispered words. This parent-child bonding is woven by words of devotion and love. The child also smiles and learns to respond …
Read More ConversationsThis entry repeats a post at Cor Deo: please offer any responses on that site. Thanks! Jesus offered a parable about the types of soil farmers find in casting seed. He then explained the parable. Those who hear God’s word are the soil and the quality of the soil defines the fruitfulness of a teaching …
Read More Soil SamplesIt’s nearly Christmas and the time for Christmas pageants: baby Jesus, all aglow, in a cross-legged wooden manger with a docile cardboard donkey, a couple of sheep, and Mary with Joseph looking on. Sweet. Yet we can be sure this sterile setting misses the original scene by a long mile. Think, instead, of an animal …
Read More The Glory of ChristmasCan you think of the times you’ve called out to God without a response from him? Do prayers seem to bounce back from heaven? Have you ever asked him, “Where are you when I need you? Why don’t you answer me?” Do we need to find some magic formula to stir God? Or to placate …
Read More Prayers that workHow do we define and apply morality? Is our morality intention-based? So that we examine motives, whether our own or others, to know whether a person is authentic in what they choose? If so, this calls for us to find our true identity so we can be “true to self” no matter what others might …
Read More Faith, Time, & MoralityAn unlikely Old Testament hero—the African eunuch, Ebed-melech—offers us a model of courage. We first meet him in Jeremiah 38 when he rescued Jeremiah. The prophet was in trouble—discarded to die in a muddy cistern—until Ebed-melech acted. In the rescue this African’s faith invites admiration and imitation. And through his story we gain another facet …
Read More FaithfulHow do we present the gospel to a skeptical world? Let’s consider a few common approaches. Arguing is one option: God’s existence is affirmed by proofs such as Christ’s miraculous resurrection. The premise is that undeniable evidence for the supernatural—with the moral implications of the supernatural God in view—will stir a decision to believe. This …
Read More By Invitation OnlyIs God sensitive? And if he is, what difference does it make? But first, what do we mean by sensitive? Is it another way of saying “very alert” or “acutely aware”? God, as Psalm 139 promises, knows all our thoughts and our every word even before we speak. And in Matthew 7 we read that …
Read More A Sensitive God?Who are we? This is a question about ultimate identity rather than constructed identity—about a defining bond rather than behaviors or circumstances. Our national identity, our socio-economic standing, our employment, our marital status—and all other circumstances in life—are only background items for this deeper question. Deeper in this sense: the answer shapes all else and …
Read More A True IdentityIn the past year I’ve had two friends fail in ministry. I’m grieving and praying for them. I’m also learning some lessons. A church collapse also fits our focus. Let’s begin by noticing an obvious challenge: failures bring shame. Yet we are wise to carry on despite shame. Some souls have even dismissed their shame …
Read More Successful Failures