Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Sometimes we hear reports of what others say about us. That happened a few years ago when a friend passed along what a noted ministry leader said about me: “The trouble with Ron is that he always rides the same pony.” What was the pony? “He’s fixated on Bible reading.” My response? Wow! Please put …
Read More The WordI’m told that the best way to have a useful conversation with those who hold different convictions is to step into their shoes—to view the world as they do. So it’s time for me to try on a Stoic view of faith. Here are some insights I’ve taken from the exercise. But first I need …
Read More Three Advantages of StoicismI’m listening to God right now. He’s using the voice of a BBC newsman telling us that an Iceland volcano is still disrupting airline flights throughout Europe. The map on the television shows that Estonia, where I’ve been speaking, is right at the center of the ash cloud. So my scheduled flight to London today …
Read More Listening to GodHow, as a believer, am I to relate to “the law” in Scriptures? The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully” [1 Timothy 1:5]. There was, it seems, some sort of law-abuse going on in Ephesus where Timothy was a pastoral leader. Yet to say …
Read More A Lawful Use of the LawLet me ask a question: do we think and learn by collecting and affirming every idea we’ve ever heard, so that all we’ve heard grows into a single collection of “truth”? Or do we try to sort out the things that are true from the things that aren’t true? If for instance, someone tells us, …
Read More A Clear View of ChristThis entry is more technical, more historical, and longer than usual: be warned and be patient, please. I also think it’s important. As my elementary teacher used to say, “Put on your thinking caps!” After recently stepping away from my years as a theology educator I’m starting to see some academic blind spots we tend to …
Read More Getting God RightI enjoy life. I enjoy it a lot! But I know that not everyone can say the same. In many cases that’s because of hard circumstances. Who, for instance, can enjoy a life out of balance because of a tragedy, or a life deprived of some basic needs, or a life broken by the abusive …
Read More Enjoying Life!I was in trouble with my high school English teacher. It was in my sophomore year—not long before I met Christ at summer camp—that she called me aside. “Where did this writing come from? You’ve plagiarized this project, haven’t you!” I was stunned. The project was a simple composition that I had taken very seriously, …
Read More Treasuring TimeThis weekend was full: I was asked to be the Sunday speaker at a church missions conference. My assigned text? Matthew 22:37-39, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all …
Read More The Divine MissionThis weekend I felt like a prophet of gloom and doom as I led retreat participants in a study of Habakkuk. Why Habakkuk? Because this brief oracle and its attached prayer engages the question of God and human sin at an epic level that we all need to grasp. Habakkuk, we remember, was told of …
Read More Rejoicing With Habakkuk