Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
The ending of the season finale of comedian John Oliver’s show on HBO, “Last Week Tonight,” was cathartic. After an expletive-filled rant regarding how “bad” (euphemism) the year has been, he pressed a trigger and pyrotechnically blew up the gigantic numbers, “2020.” For some reason it feels good to vent anger and pain vicariously like …
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. – 1 John 4:18a I was about six when my dad and I took an overnight train to Chicago. It was high adventure for me. We were in a sleeping car, with fold-out-from-the-wall bunk beds. I was in the upper, and dad in the lower. In the middle …
Read moreMONDAY MEDITATION: Love, Fear, and Hope (March 30, 2020)
[NOTE: We’ll return to a Mondays-only format next week.] I believe that the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming glory that is going to be revealed to us. — Romans 8:18 If a baby bird doesn’t look up, it doesn’t get fed. Something in the grand design of evolution put the natural instinct …
Read moreTHURSDAY MEDITATION: Learning from Baby Birds (March 26, 2020)
[NOTE: We’ll return to a Mondays-only format beginning next week.] Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. — Acts 16:25 One of the most counter-intuitive scenes in the Bible is that of imprisoned Paul and Silas, beaten and bloodied, singing a “robust” …
Read moreWEDNESDAY MEDITATION: A Mouse in the House (March 25, 2020)
[NOTE: This week my meditations run daily, and will return to a Mondays-only format next week.] I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen …
Read moreTUESDAY MEDITATION: Building a Home in Chaos (March 24, 2020)
Of the many stories circulating around the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most bizarre is that of a run on toilet paper. Some stores across the nation are so low on their supply that they have had to ration how many packages a customer can buy. There have been at least two accounts of people …
Job 42:9-17 Job’s sufferings end when God appears in a whirlwind and has a heart-to-soul conversation with him. What’s VERY interesting, though, is what happens afterwards. In the above verses, three things leap off the page. Job prays for his friends. His friends haven’t exactly been friendly to him. They’ve held to the fantasy, “You’re …
Read moreMONDAY MEDITATION: Suffering, Part Two–After You’ve Seen God (November 18, 2019)
Job 23:1-9; Job 23:16-17 Job is an amazingly contemporary book. The words of an anonymous Hebrew writer living in a confusing, painful time give voice to our spirits today. Lingering with the passages above, you can find three things to remember when you are facing a grueling situation that may appear utterly hopeless. Be honest. …
Read moreMONDAY MEDITATION: Suffering, Part One–The Three B’s (November 11, 2019)
2 Corinthians 5:16-20 This disclaimer, tagged at the end of an investment opportunity, usually means that just because something good happened in the past, it doesn’t guarantee it will happen in the future. But there’s another way to look at it. As a college student, I was once caught in an horrific ice storm/blizzard. Wind-driven …
Read moreMONDAY MEDITATION: “Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results” (October 21, 2019)
Psalm 91 My first response to this psalm is, “Yeah, right.” It implies that if you trust in God, you’ll get special privileges. Everyone else can get flu shots, but you don’t need them, because you believe. Faith will protect you from viruses. Our experience tells us that this isn’t the case. God-fearing, even “Bible-believing,” …
Read moreMONDAY MEDITATION: Does God Protect Us? (September 30, 2019)