“It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. […]
I’m listening to “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles. Here are some excellent excerpts from the book – – – > what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim. Alexander Rostov was neither […]
Edwardo had often wondered, “Where is God?” Edwardo would lay in his bed at night and wish that God would tangibly come hug him and tuck him in (it seemed a fatherly thing for God to do, and a childlike thing for Edwardo to want). Every night Edwardo yearned for it, and wondered “Where is […]
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I’m listening to Eugene Peterson’s authorized biography. Here are some paraphrased excerpts from the book: The temptation to be “an expert” is relentless. He began to notice a latent messianic complex, where he was drawn to locate the emotional problems of people and then “FIX THEM EFFICIENTLY.” […]
Once upon a time there was a community of rabbis. Like all communities, they had their way of doing things. They had long standing traditions and rules. For example: [Rule #1] All rabbis must invest the majority of their time at the synagogue or temple (because this is where serious God stuff gets accomplished). [Rule […]
These days I’m listening to Winn Collier’s book “A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson.” I am increasingly enamored with the value system promoted via Eugene’s story, and I’m exceedingly convinced that Eugene’s approach to pastoral work, and to simply being human, is richly compatible with the emphatic commendation of […]
“Yet, unbelief doesn’t see God as the ultimate good. So it can’t see sin as the ultimate evil. It instead sees sin as a good thing and thus God’s commands as a stumbling block to joy. In believing the devil, I didn’t need a pentagram pendant to wear, neither did I need to memorize a […]
I have recommended the book “How To Stay Married” (by Harrison Scott Key) to lots of people. Approximately half(ish) of these people say, “I don’t like it!” My theory about why some people don’t like it, is because it makes us feel the way we’re supposed to feel with we read Scripture …uncomfortable and unsettled. […]
Presbyterians love to pray. Arms outstretched from the roof of the world, great wizardly sleeves of those Genevan robes. Eyes wrenched closed, the rhetoric as high as the pulpits; stuffed with well-worn clauses: Lord of lords, and true and living God, and Thy Kingdom come. One of my issues with our grand old waspy church […]
Just finished listening to Daisy Jones & The Six on audiobook. There are a couple of quotes that really hit me as I listened to this book. Here they are: Daisy: “I was caught in a world of my own ego. I had this validation I’d been looking for for such a long time, but […]