Natural catastrophes like the F-5 tornado outside Oklahoma City and human atrocities such as the murder of the British soldier in London or shootings of school children in Connecticut shake us to the core. We reel at the pain and horror of it all. Our hearts break at the suffering shown us by the […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on When Tornadoes Twist Our View of GodThe English Standard Version includes a footnote to its translation of Psalm 109:4. The text reads: “In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.” The psalmist cries out to God, whom He calls “O God of my praise” (v. 1), for relief and retribution against the wicked who […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on I Am PrayerI am reading a book manuscript on spiritual warfare. The authors quote me on the subject and asked if I would read the book and provide a comment for publication. After hearing their perspective on the topic, I readily agreed. I believe the area of spiritual warfare is greatly neglected in discipleship today, despite […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on The Luther I Can Relate ToTwice a year I get away for a two-day personal pastoral retreat. I use the time for projects or planning, but always for prayer. The place I go to is wooded, with several hiking trails. These paths are ideal for reflection and prayer. A few of the trails are well worn by me. I […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Lesson at the LakeAdapted from Chapter Nine, “The Vanity of Strength and Beauty” from Making Sanity Out of Vanity: Christian realism in the book of Ecclesiastes by Stanley D. Gale (EP Books, 2011) We can note another way God presents this contrast of sources of life. Most of us are familiar with the shepherd of the twenty-third […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Discovering the Fountain of Life: the gospel for the ages (5)Adapted from Chapter Nine, “The Vanity of Strength and Beauty” from Making Sanity Out of Vanity: Christian realism in the book of Ecclesiastes by Stanley D. Gale (EP Books, 2011) A passage I often share with those whose bodies are failing and racked with infirmity carries this same perspective. “So we do not lose […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Discovering the Fountain of Life: the gospel for the ages (4)