The challenge of communication is not simply knowing what someone said—it’s understanding what they meant by their words. That’s why we tend to listen more carefully or speak more precisely with people we don’t know well. We want to make sure we hear their words or they hear ours in the proper context. With those we know well,Continue reading “Thinking About The Atonement (1)”
Category Archives: Coming to God
Death and Taxes
I think I speak for most of us (tax accountants and H & R Block employees excluded), when I say that April 15th is not a date that we look forward to. It is more than just the day when our taxes are due, it is a day of reckoning. It is the adult versionContinue reading “Death and Taxes”
It’s a Jungle Out There (Anxiety & Faith, pt. 1)
Monk aired from 2001 to 2009. It achieved the requisite hundred episodes to enter into the afterlife of syndication, so you can find it today in the cable/satellite tv world as well as on some streaming services. Monk is a police procedural show, a dramedy, but mainly it is about Adrian Monk. He hadContinue reading “It’s a Jungle Out There (Anxiety & Faith, pt. 1)”
It’s a Jungle Out There (Anxiety & Faith, pt. 2)
Anxiety seems to be everywhere. Every day we hear reports, stories, and statistics about it. It’s like the pandemic came along and took the lid off our anxiety jar and everything started spilling out. But that perception isn’t entirely accurate. According to research conducted by The American Psychiatric Association and The U.K. Council for PsychotherapyContinue reading “It’s a Jungle Out There (Anxiety & Faith, pt. 2)”
It’s a Jungle Out There (Anxiety & Faith, pt. 3)
1. We begin by recognizing the anxiety has a spiritual component. Human beings possess a mind, a body, and a spirit. That’s who we are. It is how God made us. Consequently, to think about anxiety only in terms of the mind and body is a failure to treat it fully and completely. It overlooksContinue reading “It’s a Jungle Out There (Anxiety & Faith, pt. 3)”
It’s a Jungle Out There (Anxiety & Faith, pt. 4)
4. Spiritual anxiety is fed by an emphasis on wealth and status. The message should be clear: material wealth, the latest technology has to offer, creature comforts—none of them can satisfy the spiritual needs we were created with. And an over-reliance on them can actually hurt us. You can everything in the world to liveContinue reading “It’s a Jungle Out There (Anxiety & Faith, pt. 4)”
Clutter, clutter everywhere . . .
If you dump a box of toys in front of a toddler, many of them will just give you a quizzical look. But if you give them just a toy or two they are able to focus on it, engage their imagination, and in no time they’re having a great time. That’s because sometimes less isContinue reading “Clutter, clutter everywhere . . .”
Hello August
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to BethlehemContinue reading “Hello August”
A Picture Of Prayer
The story of Hezekiah can be found in 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 29-32. Hezekiah was a good man who lived during a bad time. Nonetheless, he stood for God and made sweeping religious reforms in Israel’s worship. He went after the high places (often neglected by other “good” kings), sacred stones, and Asherah poles. He evenContinue reading “A Picture Of Prayer”
Too Wonderful For Me
I’ve come to realize as an innumerable host of people have, that I can’t begin to fully fathom, appreciate, or explain how great our Father’s love is for us. It’s like the size of the universe—I understand at some simplistic level that it would take at least 92 billion light years to travel from oneContinue reading “Too Wonderful For Me”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 