The Reality of Our Present World

When the young prophet Samuel heard the voice of God calling to him in the night, he had the counsel from his priestly mentor, Eli, to tell him how to respond. Even so, it took them three times to realize it was God calling. Rather than ignoring the voice, or rebuking it, Samuel finally listened. In our modern, pragmatic world we often have no such mentor, so we do not understand it is God speaking to us in our heart. Having so long been out of touch with our deepest,…

In 2nd Timothy 3, it’s disheartening to read this list Paul makes of what people will be like in the last days, yet it shows us that as society gets darker, we as Christians have an amazing opportunity to shine brighter. “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not…

“I measure every Grief I meet,” the nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson wrote, “With narrow, probing, eyes – / I wonder if It weighs like Mine – / Or has an Easier size.” The poem is a moving reflection on how people carry the unique ways they’ve been wounded throughout their lives. Dickinson concludes, almost hesitantly, with her only solace: the “piercing Comfort” of seeing at Calvary her own wounds reflected in…

Just over a week ago, we experienced one of the most significant losses in our married lives together. Our best friend, confidant, playmate, and furry comforter left this world suddenly. Tucker, our Golden Retriever was wagging his tail in the morning and gone by late afternoon. Colleen sensed it was coming but it didn’t make it any easier. Tears were flowing in our home for days. Our four-legged friend was family - the best of the best. Always up for ball tosses,,…

I coined a new phrase. Tiptoe Preaching. In short, Tiptoe Preaching is preaching that avoids hard-hitting facts using flowery language to teach Biblical Truth.  What do I mean by that? Colleen and I were invited recently to speak at a small conference here in our local community. As we prayed about the topic chosen, it became clear that God wanted us to deliver a powerful truth.  “Believers and The Spiritual Plateau” was the topic. The truth is how…

I love this quotation . . . “You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around – and why his parents will always wave back.” - William D. Tammeu. A boy or girl on a carousel is a powerful metaphor for kids growing up and parents letting go. The child does something daring. In this case, it’s straddling a painted pony and enduring a cacophony of garish colors and.…

Political polarization has been a national reality for decades. But during 2020, the messy but often productive middle ground all but disappeared. As a result, Americans were pressured to move further right or further left or be left behind. Lines were drawn where lines were deemed unnecessary in the past. Everything became a point of contention. School closings. School openings. Masks. Protests. With the collapse of the middle, nuance left the building. Without nuance,…

More of God comes to us as we love God. The more that we love God, the more we are able to experience him. Part of this has to do with the nature of God, and part of it has to do with our own human nature. You understand from your own relationships, your story of love, that you don’t give your heart away to just anyone. You don’t give access to the deeper places in your soul to just any idle acquaintance — certainly not to someone who is at the same time…

I preview the week’s obligations on my calendar first thing Monday morning, sometimes Sunday night. Mostly to get an idea of how the coming days are planned out. I’ve concluded that I’m on overload. Plain and simple, I’m overbooked. Some of it is my doing, and some of it is just life stuff that needs to be cared for. I write or borrow content each day during the week to compose the Daily Memo. I prepare well in advance to record our podcasts every 2.…