How Are Your Toes Getting Wet?

I have seen God challenge me, many times in the last 50 years or so, far beyond my own willingness to perform. Many situations in life have made me dig deeper than I wanted to, into my own motivations, subtle ways of twisted thinking, and broken ways of

Graduation Time!

Congratulations, graduates, wherever you are! Graduation is often called "Commencement" and for good reason: your classes are over, you've passed your exams, and you're starting life in the real world, ready to apply what you've learned. This is a big moment! Even for those of us who graduated many years ago, we remember what an important part of life this is.  --And did you know, there's a similar 'commencement

The Fake Snake, or the Real Deal?

If one day you realized you had been living in a fantasy world that you had constructed for yourself, a world that let you be in control but that was going to end badly, would you

Welcoming the Stranger

This week for one of my classes I studied the tale of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8. I've often visualized a black man in royal robes, bouncing along in a chariot, while a young Jewish man runs up alongside and is able to

Victory through Surrender

Our "tough guy" culture tries to tell us that only those who are strongest will survive, and sometimes you just gotta beat up on your enemies. Culture says that, but not Jesus. He brought a whole different method of defeating evil -- surrendering to it, absorbing it, in order to free us.

Isaiah 50 describes a servant who would not

"I Didn't Vote for Him"

Today was the inauguration ceremony of our 45th President, Mr. Donald Trump, and his Vice-President, Mr. Michael Pence. Like always, there was a lot of pomp and circumstance. Like always, there were people deciding not to attend, in protest of the event, and others attending in order

The Woman Who Risked Everything

She crept into the dining room, hoping to be invisible, trying not to let anyone see her but the one she had come to see. Looking around, the young woman found the one she sought. It wasn't Simon the Pharisee, dressed in religious finery and obviously the host. Her tired eyes found the

Jesus the Good Shepherd

I’m continually amazed by the number of references in Scripture to the identity of Jesus the Son of God. One that he takes on himself directly in John 10 is The Good Shepherd, There’s a lot wrapped up in this identity, including many details of life in what’s called the Ancient

More Epiphanies

The season of Epiphany stretches, officially, from January 6 to February 7 this year. It celebrates the "appearing" or "presentation" of Jesus to the public in different ways in his early life. One is at the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2), another to the Gentile wise men, or Magi (Matthew 2), still another at his baptism (covered in all four gospels in different ways) and the

Where Do We Go from Here?

The Lovely Joanne and I just got back from a day at a summer camp, where some of the campers and staff were baptized. Hooray and hallelujah! For those newly-baptized persons, I know one of their next questions is "now, how do I follow Jesus?" So here are a few words that may help. Should we seek a 'balance' between grace and

Stress and Relief

After reading several thousand Facebook posts from people in my Friends list from all over the world, I'm beginning to think that a lot of stress in life is caused by trying to be right all the time. We get irritated, we feel threatened and frightened, we feel unloved, unappreciated and alone. Often it's not a huge life-threatening situation, but something simple. I don't like the way my wife just spoke to me or questioned my plan for a project. Sometimes we get upset because we think

How Do We Believe?

Do people become Jesus-followers because someone presents an argument, in a series of logical steps designed to convince them? Why do people begin to believe? Some of us are actively praying for others to believe, and some are actively involved in helping others believe, as best we can. So what is our part, if any, that we should be careful to follow?  Let's look.

Another Royal Birth

Hip, Hip, Hurray!!  The British royal family now has a new heir to the throne -- yet unnamed as of the day of his birth -- who was born today to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, otherwise known as William and Kate. Hearty congratulations to them all! This birth was

Listening to God the Holy Spirit

I've been studying, meditating, and asking God for more clarity on the Holy Spirit's person and work, and being reminded again how

Hurry and Cut the Grass Before the Snowstorm

I had to laugh - I've been wanting to cut the grass (it's called "mow the lawn" in some parts of the world) for about a week now

The Bull's-Eye

Target shooters like to be able to hit the center of the target, called the "bull's-eye" or bullseye.  And if they get especially sharp, they can hit the center of the bullseye.  So if you wanted to know what the exact center
of God's will is, what would it be?  You might not be too surprised if I tell you it's Jesus Christ himself.  How would we know?  Here are a few scriptures:

Heb 1:1-4 "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names."  Now, if you had to guess, is this Son greater than the prophets of old?  Greater than Moses?  Greater than the angels and other spirits?  Greater than the creation?  Yes, all the above. 

Col 1: 15-20 "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything...He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.  Christ is also the head of the church...so he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself."  So, is the Christ more important than anything or anyone else in the universe, under the Father?  Yes.  Has God already saved you through his Son?  Yes!

John 1: 1, 14 "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God...the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son."  Jesus the Christ, who by this description is also God, came to live with us humans, as our only Savior.  The Center of God's entire work with humanity is found in him, and him alone. 

Do you want to please God, or do the work of God?  In John 6:29 we read "Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'"  So, let everything else in life be seen in the light of Jesus.  Center your life in him.  Let him be to you what he truly is for the whole creation, the bullseye, the Center of the center.  And see how that changes everything else. 

The Mind and Voice of the Holy Spirit

The Lovely Joanne was trying to tell me something this morning, but I was in the other room and had noise coming in the window.  Guess what?  She didn't get through -- but it wasn't because she didn't do her part! 

Lately I've been writing about the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and who teaches us the mind of Jesus Christ because he is the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).  As we see in scripture, the goal of God from before creation is to draw us into a relationship of mutual love.  Despite our continual detours and sins, God has continued to pursue us, even sending the Son to be a human along with us and create the way back to him, and sending the Spirit to draw us toward the Father (even when we don't believe in him yet), creating and deepening that bond of love.

How does the Spirit draw us to God and build the relationship?  Jesus said in John 16:8-9, the Spirit "will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me." So the Spirit is "the advance man" so to speak, chipping away at our refusal to believe in God.  Once we believe the Spirit's message of our acceptance with the Father, we can gain a stronger bond with God by deliberately living, every day, within the Spirit's influence.  Jesus said the Spirit will "guide you into all truth...tell you about the future...bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me."  So when we can hear the Spirit, look how much God gives us! 


This morning, in order to hear Joanne, I had to go in the other room where she was standing.  So how can we hear the mind and voice of the Spirit?  By getting more serious about listening.  Sometimes, to hear the Spirit, we have to shut off the noise --turning off the TV or the XM satellite radio or the music or the video games, or the cellphone and text messages and Facebook.  Sometimes we have to stop the continual march of food and drink into our mouths, because fasting from the physical helps us focus on the spiritual, which is the only real thing anyway.  Sometimes we have to change locations, getting away from all the ordinary in order to hear God in a fresh way.  

What one thing could you do today, in the routine busyness of your life, to stop and hear the Spirit better?  What's stopping you from doing that?  Will you make the decision to change it, so you can receive all God has for you? 

Trust Jesus

Trust is a big deal for people. Marriage, for instance, is based on trust, not just on love. Or, for another example, would you give your wallet and keys to the next person you meet on the street? Why not? Probably because you don't trust they would take proper care of them.

Why should you trust God? What does he have for you? Well, he sent his Son to tell us about himself (John 14:9), to provide the only way to God (John 14:6) and to bring us life. John wrote at the end of his gospel, in 20:31, "But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name."

Belief is important in John's gospel; John uses the word over 75 times. That's nearly 4 times per chapter. Believing in Jesus means trusting him -- relying on him for what we can't do for ourselves. Including, first of all, saving ourselves from destruction as a result of our sins.

Do you trust him? That's the question. Do you trust that he really has died for you? Do you trust that he has given you life with him, a life without end? Do you trust that it is a gift from him to you? Or do you think it's something you can earn, if you're a good enough person? John records Jesus saying this, in 3:18 "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." See, we can believe that Jesus existed, but what's really important is believing what he said, and trusting that he meant it.

Trusting Jesus means you've already entered into the life he has for humanity: a life of knowing, being in relationship and living in the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A life that will, after your physical existence is over, lead you into the presence of God forever. Not trusting Jesus, on the other hand, is a much harder road. Refusing to trust Jesus means choosing to miss out on everything he has for you. Not much of a choice. But then, God still leaves the choice up to you.

Which one do you choose?