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Eternal Threads
The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. ~ Psalm 119:160 ~ I don’t read The Word like I used to. Several years ago I opened my Bible to Genesis 1 and for what turned out to be 18 months, carefully moved through the story. I was eager, maybe even desperate that Scripture would come alive in a way that contrasted a utilitarian, academic endeavor. I had a journal to record text, thoughts, and questions. Three specific longings burned in my heart. God, show me who You are. Show me who I am. Show me who we (humans) are. The fact that I…
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Pray Without Ceasing (ETD – Pt. 9)
One of the glorious aspects of being an eternal being, secure in my destiny, is that the process of discovery never ends. So while I am in awe every time I’m in any way illuminated to some truth, I have an expectation that there awaits another equally amazing truth, one layer beneath. I have been thoroughly and wonderfully caught up, meditating on what it means to live my life in the company of God. A transformation has and is taking place where old language is discarded and new language has taken up residence, giving voice to fresh views of “prayer.” When I draw into the company of God; when I…
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The Concession of My Will (ETD – Pt. 8)
The Concession of My Will ~ Submission There is a load of rich Biblical history depicting tenacious men and women beseeching God for what they wanted. Abraham respectfully yet repeatedly spoke with the Lord with regard to the destruction of Sodom. Jacob wrestled for a blessing. Hannah pleaded for a son. The Apostle Paul wanted relief from his “thorn in the flesh.” And Jesus asked, three times no less, that the task set before Him be removed. Peter had it right when he confessed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Similarly, the Children of Israel were experts at going right to the Source with praise,…
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The Confessions of My Mouth (ETD – Pt. 7)
The Confessions of My Mouth ~ Honesty Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! ~ Psalm 19:12-13 ~ As I consider being in the fourth chair, the subject of honesty turns out to be a multi-layered conversation. On the surface and under the umbrella of humility (ETD Pt. 6), honesty is an obvious central component of healthy, life-giving dialogue. Until it shows up, I sit in virtual darkness, unable to converse about the contents of life, either because I won’t or cannot see. It’s hard to have a genuine conversation with someone you aren’t honest with.…
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The Posture of My Heart (ETD – Pt. 6)
The Posture of My Heart ~ Humility Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; ~ Psalm 61:1 ~ ~ When I draw into the dialogue, a powerful thing happens as I purpose to remember where I come, and Who I come to. For whatever reason, the remembering of these things is part of how God is teaching me to be in His presence. Attitude and perspective are vital components in effective dialogue (where God has His way). In case I have any delusions that the attitude of my heart doesn’t really matter to God, these words enlighten: “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their…
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Consuming or Pursuing (ETD – Pt. 5)
Consuming or Pursuing ~ Our consumerist culture has pervasively influenced our Christian culture. I don’t think most folks would argue against that point. The temptation from culture is to approach spirituality as consumers. We “shop” for churches, for speakers, for musical preferences, for programs, for bible studies… we pursue with the idea that we are the object of import, so it seems logical, even responsible, that we look around to find what suits us. Once we land somewhere, we begin to integrate whatever the standing criteria are for that institution. We develop skills. We hone disciplines (like “prayer”). We adapt to our chosen environment. Still, the process is largely self-serving…
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Anything but Arbitrary (ETD – Pt. 4)
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Entering the Dialogue – Pt. 3
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Entering the Dialogue – Pt. 2
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Entering the Dialogue – Pt. 1
The oneness and diversity that lives within the person of God are one of the most wonderful paradoxes in all of The Bible. Three distinct aspects of Him are referenced throughout scripture. They are clearly aspects of one entity, yet are so unique unto themselves, we are better able to visualize three persons rather than one. But God who said, “Let Us make man in Our image,” is one inexplicably diverse being. The eternal and internal interaction that is taking place within the person of God reflects everything Jesus taught about community. Deference, servitude, respect, and love exist as Father, Son, and Spirit commune within themselves. That communion gives insight…
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Say It Back to Me
January 2015 starts year four of these little “musings and mutterings” I post. I was a little surprised to find it’s been that long. In any case, I have been doing some remembering, thinking about why I write them; about the purposes they might serve. I write because, at this point in my life, I have to write. It is the singular way I effectively sift through my inner stirrings and I happen to deeply enjoy the process. There is something utterly satisfying about consolidating language and clarifying thoughts, so that when you have strewn together 500 or 600 words, you are saying what you mean to say, with all the…
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Immanuel
I wonder if at the same time God was dialoguing within Himself about His plans to create the world, He also planned what He would do to redeem it. Father, Son, and Spirit, knew the humans they would create would exercise the free-will they’d be given. God knew we would choose to move away from Him, and so He devised a plan to ensure we could return. He also worked out and set in place how the whole of what He would create would be restored, never to be corrupted again. The day The Son of God entered a young virgin girl, that redemptive plan was set in motion. When…
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Vulnerabilities & Strongholds
And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand. ~ 1 Samuel 23:14 ~ ~ Vulnerability Susceptible to harm, moral attack or open assault. Within the spectrum of who I am lies strengths and weaknesses, places where I have some level of competency and areas where I recognize I am susceptible to harm. Between those two “bookends” are a plethora of tendencies that stay off the radar most of the time even though they quietly contribute to my everyday life. I’ve been thinking about vulnerabilities, about…
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Thoughts on Transitioning to a New Normal
These are thoughts not necessarily in sequence. Each paragraph is meant to make sense independent of the others, (fingers are crossed). I’ve written them down for someone I have the great honor of walking beside in their grief. A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? ~ Proverbs 18:14 ~ When someone has experienced significant trauma, there is no vein of life that is untouched by it. Normal life vanishes. Grief comes, entering the center of the person in pain, and a journey ensues, transitioning them from what was their ‘normal’ to whatever the ‘new normal’ will be. Anyone who has truly experienced the process…
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The Fear of “What If”
With so many looming global changes on the horizon, fear is an invitation offered me all too often. Will my comfortable American way of life alter irreparably? Informed Americans, which includes American Christians, are thinking about and forming images of what it might mean to live with profound restrictions across the whole spectrum of life. It seems essential that I begin to have these conversations in the company of The Lord. ~ …to those who are elect exiles… who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ~ 1 Peter 1:1,5 ~ I can tell you all day long…
