Gaining a heart of wisdom
Preparing to teach the Beatitudes, I am trying to live my way into their truth by carrying them around on 3×5 cards and struggling to understand a Kingdom in which you are pronounced “happy” : If you know that you are spiritually bankrupt. If your poverty of soul makes you sad. If you realize that… Continue reading Blessed Are You
Robert Frost's thrush is not singing a solo in his invitation to lament, but is adding to the words of the prophet Jeremiah, and has now been joined by Soong-Chan Rah in Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times. In Frost's poem, the invitation is declined, and perhaps he had good reason, as he was "out… Continue reading “Come into the Dark and Lament”
Two weeks into the Beatitudes with my Sunday School class, and my ear is finally becoming accustomed to the cadence of another Kingdom, one in which those who are meek and mournful are pronounced fortunate -- even happy. All of this is a fitting backdrop for reading Joshua Choonmin Kang's Spirituality of Gratitude. His collection… Continue reading The Language of Thanksgiving
It's become a cliché, really. "Wait on God." In the glib heart, it's an all purpose non-answer. It's what we say when we don't know what to say. In Waiting on God: What to Do When God Does Nothing, Wayne Stiles opens the lens of Scripture to take in the Old Testament life of Joseph and de-formulizes that… Continue reading Wisdom for Waiting: Ten Lessons from the Life of Joseph
Reading Warren Wiersbe, I understand how my kids feel when I glance into a closet and pull out the basketball they "can't find." It was there all along, but they just didn't see it. In his writing Dr. Wiersbe pulls outlines and alliteration out of Scripture -- rather than imposing them upon the text --… Continue reading Hebrews — “Be Confident!”
When Esteban, the church parking lot attendant, was charged with heresy, no one took the accusation seriously -- at least not at first. He viewed his trial as one more platform for The Story, and with a very influential audience. No one could have predicted the crowd becoming a mob, and his listeners becoming his… Continue reading Your Story Matters
The beginning. The middle. The end. Every journey, every process has three stages. Beginnings are exciting and full of promise. Endings are satisfying and fulfilling. The Miracle in the Middle by Charlotte Gambill addresses the murky middle, the time between two shores when people lose interest, become discouraged, or just drop out. Charlotte's word of encouragement… Continue reading Managing Our Middle Moments
Furrowing my brow, straining for clarity, I peered into young faces and saw what I'd been hoping for -- understanding! My assignment this week? Teach five of Jesus' "I Am" statements, mind-blowing truth about a God with skin on who used words to explain His purpose and His power in a monumental leap from the… Continue reading One Metaphor Is Not Enough
I've spent the past six months either reading in or teaching from the psalms, but Vic Black has introduced an approach to the psalms that is not only new but also energizing, providing a richer, deeper taste of God's presence in His Words. Vic's book, Speak, Lord begs the question: "Why haven't I thought of… Continue reading First Person, Singular
I have read Elisabeth Elliot's A Lamp for My Feet at least a half dozen times in the past twenty years, but turned to it again at the outset of 2015. Like an old friend, its words are familiar to me, and my copy is underlined and dog-eared and covered with scrawled verse references. It's a simple… Continue reading Reflections from the Lamp: Remembering Elisabeth Elliot
Living Our Days 