sitting at the table with Jesus

Sitting At The Table With Jesus

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The methods and “business practices” of Jesus don’t make much sense to the modern American who works in the competitive marketplace and relaxes at home in the evenings – watching The Apprentice, Shark Tank, or The Voice.

We’re used to the threat of elimination. And we’re keeping an eye out for others who ought to be eliminated.

Jesus gave individuals a place at the table with him who didn’t deserve to be there. In fact, none of them deserved it. They looked more like a bizarre collection of characters… Read More

your place at the table

Your Place At The Table Is Saved & It Is Safe

- - Life With God, Uncategorized

I don’t know what the vision statement of the church I grew up in was, but if I were to guess based on the rapture movies they used to show, it’d be something like:

We exist to scare the hell out of everyone.

Yes, I had nightmares about missing the rapture, heads being chopped off, accidentally getting the mark of the beast, and a variety of other apocalyptic terrors.

And there were a number of times when, coming home from school and finding no evidence of family members, I’d panic and assume the worst: I had missed the rapture. For the next few minutes (until my mom came back from visiting with a friend), I’d frantically devise my ridiculous escape and survival plan… Read More

whats on the screen and whats on the street

What’s On The Screen & What’s On The Street

- - Life With God, Uncategorized

I was listening to Jonathan Martin speak on the Myth of Moses while out on my favorite trail yesterday…

Here are a few summarized bits of what he was talking about:

  • In the Old Testament account, we only hear that Moses put a veil over his face because he’d just been with God – and radiated the glory of God so much that the people couldn’t even look at him. It was as if the veil protected the people from getting too much of God from Moses.
  • In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul throws Moses under the bus. He says Moses put a veil over his face, essentially to hide the fact that God’s glory was fading from him… Read More
didn' thave to run

Didn’t Have To Run

- - Life With God, Uncategorized

Yesterday, my wife was asking me about my younger years of rebellion—my “prodigal son” days. She wondered how far away from God I felt like I was back then…

Did you believe you had run away from God? Did you see yourself as truly on the outside, no longer part of the family of God?

It didn’t take me long to answer. Yes, I did.

Back then, I didn’t have such a generous view of the family of God.

What I understood from the teaching of the church at that time was clear: Do those things, and you are not part of us. More specifically, do those things, and you are not part of Him… Read More

thankful our father is not the well digger

Thankful Our Father Is Not The Well Digger

- - Life With God, Uncategorized

I recently watched The Well Digger’s Daughter on Netflix. It’s a subtitled French film about a widowed well digger raising his six daughters in the Provence countryside at the start of World War I. The film got 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, so I expected it to be pretty good.

The movie is beautiful and all french-like (if you’re into that sort of thing).

The plot of the film has the well digger’s oldest daughter Patricia returning home from Paris to help raise her sisters. Her father hopes to marry her off to his loyal well-digging assistant…

But when she’s impregnated by a wealthy young pilot who promptly abandons… Read More

kindness

Kindness Revealed

- - Life With God, Uncategorized

As I have grown in my understanding of God, and in my relationship with him over the years, I’ve come to believe something about his nature…

He is kind.

I will have compassion on you with everlasting kindness, says the Lord —Isaiah 54.8 GWT

His kindness is everlasting.

And it’s not a hidden feature. Sometimes the church and his people do a good job of hiding it… Read More

lincoln wants pennies

Lincoln Only Wants Pennies & That’s Just Fine

- - Life With God, Uncategorized

Lincoln is one of our pastors’ kids. He’s three years old and stinkin’ cute.

The other day I heard him say in a concerned voice, “Where’s my pennies?” His mom helped him find his little penny collection and Lincoln quickly stuffed them in his front pocket with a pleased look on his face.

Watching the whole exchange, I thought, “That’s fun. Lincoln must be learning about money and wants to make sure he’s carrying some with him all the time. Cute – he’s participating in the economy.”

I decided to give him some pennies to add to his collection – so I went to my office in search of spare change… Read More