We've experienced a drop of God's goodness in the face of this little girl. An eternity in the ocean of his goodness awaits us. But we're not home yet.
Thirteen Years and One Daughter Later
Polytheistic Christians
Israel never actually abandoned the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their problem was not replacing Yahweh with other Canaanite gods. Their problem was setting other gods beside him. Yahweh remained their national deity, the one on whom they called when it came to war and threats from enemies.
A Loss for the Home Team… Or Was It?
Since January I've been working through a Church history course as part of my M. Div. program at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Up until now in the course, it has been fascinating and exciting to watch Christianity spread from Jerusalem to places as far away as Spain in the far west and China in the far east. It's kind of like watching the home team advance in big ways. This past week, however, the home team took a major hit. Or did it?
All Our Hopes and Fears
"[T]here was more than merely hope that lay in an animal trough in a small town called Bethlehem that night the angels appeared to startled shepherds and announced the birth of a Savior, their Messiah and Lord. Something capable of instilling a fear deeper and wider than hell itself lay swaddled on top of the straw too."
Staycation
Time for virtual photo trip to south of Kyrgyzstan!
Black on White
I’ve heard that silence is violence a few times these past weeks. There is something inside me that wants to protest before I even think about what it really means or if it is true.
No Time for Nuance
Laura and I lived a few houses away from a U.S. Bank branch that was burned to the ground in the wake of the rioting that broke out after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, murdered an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis, MN, on May 25, 2020.
Truths to Build Your Life On: Open Letters to the Class of 2020, Part 4
I've already told you the bad news. In fact, I've told you the worst news there is. You are a sinner.... If you've really grasped the truth that you're a sinner, now, and perhaps only now, you're ready for the best news you will ever hear.
Impervious
I actually don't remember how I came across this band but has become a favorite one very quickly. They are called Son Lux and let me warn you now, they are not for everyone. Their lyrics and their sounds are full of layered meaning and I like that. The pictures in this post are inspired by one of their songs, Dream State. The lyrics are below.
Truths to Build Your Life On: Open Letters to the Class of 2020, Part 3
You are not a sinner merely because you do sinful things. Though that's true. You are sinner in the first place because from the moment you were conceived in your mother's womb, you were bent in the wrong direction (Psalm 51:5). That is, your heart longed for the same independence from God that Adam and Eve pursued when they ate of that stupid fruit in the garden. You've inherited their rebellious heart and attitude, and not only that, if you were honest, you would admit that you have actively invested a lot of your time and energy into cultivating that rebellion.