It’s been the kind of spring that’s made me grateful to be a sports fan. My soccer team has come with a couple of outcome changing goals in the final minutes of what we insiders call “stoppage time.” I’ve been waiting, since moving back to the Pacific Northwest in 1984, for Vancouver’s Canucks to win their [...]
Archive for the ‘questions’ Category
30 Apr
In secret: the value of humility and anonymity
Many of you have these words of Jesus: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Could it be that these words, like so many others of Jesus’ are truer, much truer, than we realize? In my readings for the upcoming symposium of faith and science that I’m attending, I’ve discovered that the [...]
26 Apr
And if the world ends on May 21?
“There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established already in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power.” -Martin of Tours, 4th Century AD I’ve always had friends who are “into” Biblical prophecy and finding the dates of Christ’s return. In the ’70s, I saw charts and [...]
19 Apr
Insanity antidote: simplicity
If you’re reading these words, you’re likely among the top 10% of wealthiest people in the world. You’re probably not spending much time thinking about how you’ll get water to drink, or whether you’ll have a place of shelter tonight. Though it may come at steep price (depending on where you live) you have access [...]
29 Mar
Golden Calves come in many forms – What are today’s idols?
What if the story about the guy who builds extra towers for his grain is more literal than we take it to be? We can go to a morning Bible study and consider this story, and reinforce the principles that are in it by talking about Jesus’ exhortation to not worry about the future and then, after praying, we’re somehow able to stick around at Starbucks, sipping our $4.00 drinks and talking about our 401-k plans, sharing investment tips and how we’re building our portfolios.
26 Mar
Like snow melting…give it time
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater” – Isaiah 55 Sometimes it rains up here where I live in the Northwest corner of the USA. Big wet clouds pour [...]
16 Mar
Shaking…And What We’ve Failed to Learn
When I turned on the radio Saturday morning and heard about the earthquake, I only heard the second half of a sentence, “…it was one of the worst earthquakes in history,“ as if it was something that happened decades ago. Not until I saw the New York Times front page did a realize that this [...]
14 Mar
Real Freedom Found in Abstinence
I’m giving up certain foods for Lent, a part of the Christian tradition that’s not nearly as universally recognized as Christmas and Easter. I’ll leave the historical background of this season for others to explain. My point in writing is to ponder this simple question: What’s gained by abstaining from a certain food, or from [...]
12 Feb
Two reasons to believe the Bible is inspired
I was chatting with someone this week about questions of faith and “knowing”: How do we know that the Bible is from God? Know is a tricky word, because every person’s appetite for evidence is different. Some need mountains, some molehills. Either way, the truth is that you’ll never find enough scientific evidence to come [...]
24 Nov
Curious…
I’m enjoying reading the biography of a favorite Christian: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, while I’m over here in Germany. He was a German pastor, ultimately arrested and executed because of his overt and covert involvement in the resistance movement. I love reading about German history while I’m over here because this history still bleeds into day to [...]
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