Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Can you recall a time when a friend or family member made a promise so weighty you had to stop and wonder? I remember one such case—when Steve offered to cover almost half the cost of my hoped-for studies in London. I had all but given up on the project when he made his promise, …
Read More Fully ConvincedThis entry is shared with the Cor Deo site: please offer any comments there. Thanks! Years ago the caricature of a librarian was a matron who roamed the library shushing everyone. I hope the title for this entry won’t stir that image! Picture, instead, an auditorium in 2013 filled with the clamor of scientists awaiting …
Read More “Quiet, please!”Today is Easter—when Christ’s followers celebrate his resurrection. By going to the cross he kept the promise of Isaiah 25:7—“And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe …
Read More Augustine’s Aphorism and EasterLast week I was shocked to hear of the airline copilot who flew his airliner into a mountain, killing many while taking his own life. But he was not alone in dealing out death. During the week there were suicide-vest killings in a Somalia hotel; killings in Nigeria, Syria, Tunisia, America, and more. So my …
Read More MurderA week ago a USA church denomination led by progressives changed its stance on a big social issue. In reading jubilant news responses I thought of God. Why is he so slow to change, even when visionaries offer to coach him? The question reaches back over many centuries. Some leaders in Genesis, for instance, realized …
Read More An Enigmatic GodThis post repeats a Cor Deo offering. Please offer any comments at that site. Thanks! A Friday morning chat with Terry about conversations, and then reading Pete Sanlon’s book on Augustine—including a feature on Augustine’s conversations with God—set me up for this post. It’s a topic worth revisiting on a regular basis even apart from …
Read More Conversing with GodHuman “free will” is a misleading premise—a common sense axiom of the post-Genesis 3 world. Adam embraced it when he accepted the promise that he could “be like God.” It offered him and his offspring a relative independence from God, and with that the freedom to redefine good and evil. The Bible regularly dismisses these …
Read More Humility and FreedomHave you ever been in a conversation with someone who wants to push a topic you find tedious or awkward? You try to change the subject. That fails. You try silence. That fails! In fact your silence gives him twice the time to talk. Finally you sigh inwardly and say you have somewhere you need …
Read More Awkward EncountersHere’s a question we all face each day: How much self-indulgence is acceptable? And what kinds of self-indulgence are allowed to Christians? The question may sound like a setup for a dose of moralistic chastening—and there will be a moral bite involved—but I ask it as an honest reflection. Self-indulgence offers a wide range of …
Read More Self-indulgenceJesus warned his disciples—and, by extension, us—of what to expect before his return. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false …
Read More A Growing Challenge