Most would rather push an overflowing cup away than drink from it. If we know our life depends on what is in the cup, we might move toward it rather than away. Such was the cup Jesus drank from. Let me set the scene. When Judas came to betray Jesus with Romans and Jews in…
Today is the one-year anniversary of getting my ears pierced. At 16 years old, I wouldn’t have considered it; at 39, I assumed my parishioners would frown on the decision; at 59, the only opinion that mattered was my wife’s. So, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2024, I had my ears pierced. When I…
In my previous post, I said that there are times when God is silent. In particular, I used the illustration that unanswered prayers are somewhat like being ghosted by the Holy Ghost. That makes “Ghosting” sound infrequent. However, the glaring truth in Scripture is that God regularly “Ghosts” His people. We preach sermons and lead…
Of all the unanswered prayers, “What am I supposed to do?” has to be the most frustrating. Here’s the scenario: I’m facing a decision that feels consequential. It may have to do with how to respond in a relationship or which direction to take in life. Or, I might wonder how to phrase a question…
Words matter. At a recent wedding, the pastor quoted Genesis 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” For some unknown reason, my mind went to the King James version: “…a man…shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be…
No matter our religion or our Scripture of choice, humans have tremendous power over interpretation. I would go so far as to say that we determine to a large degree what we hear God saying to us. Most disturbingly, this happens without our awareness. Humans are most likely to believe what we hear or read…