“Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.” – Habakkuk 2:2-3 Twenty-four years ago, God gave […]
“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make melody. Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the […]
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. – Psalm 130:1-4 We all fail. We fall short, mess up, and yes, even […]
I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. – Psalm 121:1-2 NRSV Yesterday morning, our internet went out. It seems a tree fell somewhere and took the line down with it. While the temporary loss was no tragedy, it did cause some significant impact on my plans […]
In the last series of posts I wrote, one person commented about a distinction between God using our negative circumstances and God causing them. The latter was hard for them to embrace. I originally planned to respond to the comment in my post the following week in May 2015, and then, life took a serious change. As I approached the end of May, I started […]
Before we consider the role of reason in spiritual discernment, I want to mention I comment I received on yesterday’s post. A concern was raised regarding God’s involvement in our experiences. Specifically, that God does not cause bad things to happen in our lives so that we will learn a lesson. This is a very important point! Rather than simply make a passing comment on […]
Swiss theologian Karl Barth once said we should do theology with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.” While newspapers are no longer the dominant media source, his point is still quite valid. We need our experiences to properly discern God’s will. Yes, as we already established, we need the truth of Scripture and the solid foundation of Tradition, but we understand […]
Every time I think about tradition, I cannot help but think of Tevye boldly singing, “Tradition!” in the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Throughout the performance, he is faced with challenges to his traditions as he desperately tries to hold on to them. Slowly, he begins to accept that some of those traditions need to change. It might seem that, if traditions are flexible in […]
Living the Christian life requires a constant effort to discern God’s will and to put that direction into action. Discovering God’s will for our lives, our families, our faith communities, and the world is not always easy. Situations are often complicated and the right course of action is not always clear. How do we discern God’s direction? What tools are there to help us in […]
Identifying the sources of negative spiritual gravity in our lives is the first step to breaking free. When we see what is holding us back, those things begin to lose some power in the light of that exposure, but knowing gravity exists will not give us the power to overcome its pull. We need to take active steps to move upward. Here are five steps […]