Lesson From A Spider
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. Was it a beetle? A moth? No, it was my worst nightmare. Trapped inside my car with a spider. Worst of all, I was driving so trying to kill it would probably get us both killed. Naturally I pulled...
The Dark Night of the Soul: When God Whispers
And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” Job 26:14 Have you ever heard the whisper of God? You may have and did not realize it. Just as you may...
A Fruit of the Spirit is Generosity: You Reap How Much You Sow
Has anyone ever called you generous? I have been called a lot of things in my day: smart, funny, funny-looking, snorky (look it up! It’s a word), rad, phat, fat, pretty fly for a white guy, ghetto, you get the idea. I have rarely been called generous. Being generous...
When God Stops Speaking: The Brilliance of the Dark Night of the Soul
“Jesus has a very special love for you, as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear. The tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak … I want you to pray for me that...
All Animals (And Even Some Humans!) Go to Heaven
art credit: http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/animaljam/images/2/2e/Doggy_heaven.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141017125605 Some content written by Melissa Balun. Much appreciation. Growing up, my family always had pets. Dogs, cats, birds, fish, hamsters, ponies, spider monkeys – Ok, maybe not all of those. I mean, wouldn’t it be ridiculous to have a pet hamster?! When one of them died,...
How To Be Human
Just before Jesus is tempted in the wilderness, Mark writes, “At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.” Mark 1:12-13 NIV What?!?!?! If I was...
Peace on Earth in a World Gone to Pieces
“There are no small roles, only small actors” or so said the director who got her name in lights and on the front page of every program. But I was no fool even when I was a wee little lad. While others got to be Joseph or King Herod...
The Lord’s Prayer, Part One: How To Pray and Get What You Really Want
How do you pray? I have often wondered if I was praying correctly – especially when none of my prayers seem to be answered. Even the disciples who hung out with Jesus everyday for over three years were clueless. “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he...
If It Is Revenge You Seek, Turn the Other Cheek
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:38-39 NIV) Matthew begins this discussion by quoting part...
Adam and Evil (It’s Not My Fault!)
Are humans naturally good or hopelessly evil? Philosophers, theologians, and even scientists have been debating this question for centuries. This brings up other questions as well. Do we really have free will or is everything predestined? Are we born evil or is it our parents’ fault? Are all people...