Oct 27, 2017 | Uncategorized
Grace is the undeserved, unmerited, unearned, unpurchasable favor of God. God is inclined toward us. Grace is the effect of love. Grace is how God moves, beautifully, with agility, encompassing power and gentleness. Peace is the consequence of Grace. Peace is Shalom:...
Oct 20, 2017 | Uncategorized
Light is good and darkness is bad, right? Not always, according to God. “I’ll give you the treasures of darkness…,” God says. Nothing shiny here as we understand shiny. Dark time treasure reveals the truth. We see God clearer in the dark. The treasure of the darkness...
Oct 13, 2017 | Uncategorized
You can feel the love in every chapter. Of all the places Paul visited, Philippi was where he felt the grace of people beside him. “Companions,” he calls them, “co-workers.” They inspire him. They care for him. They embody what he preaches and his preaching is...
Oct 9, 2017 | Uncategorized
Prayer is a prelude.Good Evening Brothers and Sisters, in the aftermath of the horror of Las Vegas, I am heartened to know that you’re gathered to remember and pray for the souls of those who have died, including Mr. Paddock. I am heartened that you have gathered to...
Oct 6, 2017 | Uncategorized
Thank God for the poets behind Psalm 19– the folks who hid words of life in plain sight. Their poetry points to what is necessary for the “flawless restoration of the soul.” They give the chapter and verse about how God makes the simple, wise and leads the willing...
Sep 29, 2017 | Uncategorized
Jesus told dangerous stories. Stories about hope founded in God and not the market. Stories about abnormal generosity that commend sharing not accumulation. Religious people were always uncomfortable speaking and listening to Jesus then. Imagine that, uncomfortable...
Sep 22, 2017 | Uncategorized
There’s a gift in Jesus stories. Each one reminds us how usual we are. How quid pro quo the world that we have designed is. How too often life is cold, scared, prose. Into this world–the world of our usual brutalities–comes the saving poet, Jesus! His stories seduce...
Sep 15, 2017 | Uncategorized
On their journey towards freedom. In a whirl of uncertainty. With extreme danger pursuing. Entangled by fear. Even tempted to give up the gift of liberation. Moses spoke two words to his fellow travelers, “stand firm.” Firm, not rigid. Rigid is inelastic. Rigid...
Sep 8, 2017 | Uncategorized
Not the opposite of tight. But, loose, as in what we release into the world. Loose like what we sustain or reject. People have immense spiritual power. Immense. The universe has a mathematical precision to it. Our action or inaction creates reality. Sowing dictates...
Sep 1, 2017 | Uncategorized
Profound images of loss surround us. We can turn the TV off but the loss remains. Rather than face loss, we deny it or euphem-ize it. Just like Jesus’ friends of old. Yes, denial and euphemism temporarily dull pain, but ultimately they are a stumbling block to depth,...
