“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” – Joel 2:28 People talk a lot about dreams and visions. Sometimes, they use other words, but questions about direction and goals are fairly common. Students are asked about their dreams for the future. Businesses continually […]
As election day draws closer, the aggressive nature of the campaign continues to escalate. There is a steady stream of venom spoken in the public sphere. A parade of television and radio messages declare the litany of reasons why opposing candidates are the apparent incarnation of evil. Every mistake is magnified and used to demonize the opposition, which inspires a multitude of loyal followers to […]
“What is truth?” Pilate asked Jesus. With the Son of God, the very living embodiment of truth, before him, he chose to enter into a philosophical reflection on the nature of truth. It is a stunning example of missed opportunity. Instead of debating the definition of truth, Pilate could have chosen to drink deeply of it from Jesus Christ. It is clear from the story […]
On the way to our region’s annual, denominational meeting, I was on the road for several hours. As I drove, I passed numerous cars, vans and trucks, and I saw a vast diversity of scenery. Passing by an area of wetlands set against a backdrop of dense forest, I began to think about all of the life hidden from my sight as I continued to […]
Tomorrow is Pentecost. It is also two weeks since I announced to the congregation I serve that a change in pastoral leadership is coming. As you can imagine, accepting the coming change is a difficult thing. Some people are ready to move forward while others are still trying to adjust to the news. For many this time simply feels like chaos, and questions about the […]
Last night, a band of dangerous thunderstorms moved through our area and brought with them high winds and tornados. It was a harrowing time for some people and the damage while isolated, was significant. As is typical of these times of natural destruction, the pain and destruction were deemed, “an act of God,” by media and others. It is interesting that God gets the blame […]
“In the coming days, I will be sharing some suggestions to help encourage and empower your study.” I remember writing those words, surprisingly weeks ago. I would love to tell you that my time was filled with study; digging into great spiritual depth, but that would be a lie. In the days that followed my last post, church life, family life, even community life became amazingly […]
“I don’t want to study!” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard those words, and how many times I said them. There are times when all of us would rather not expend the metal effort to take in more information. Sometimes we feel too tired or maybe the material does not excite us, but whatever the reason, we don’t feel like learning any […]
Sometimes real beauty can only be discovered by adversity. When we go through the fire, common things are refined into something uncommon. Challenge and pain can uncover hidden virtues, passions, and possibilities. Watching nature transition from the luscious life of summer to the vibrant beauty of autumn, it is hard to miss that a deeper beauty is revealed in the process of letting go. As […]
It is easy to mistake amassing information for gaining knowledge. While it is wonderful to have the precious tidbits necessary to win a game of Trivial Pursuit, or answer the questions on Jeopardy, real knowledge is much more than a mind full of facts, no matter how interesting those facts may be. The wrong understanding of knowledge can lead to negative consequences. It is this […]