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 […]
When you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you and take it over and settle down, and then say, “I’m going to get me a king, a king like all the nations around me,” make sure you get yourself a king whom God, your God, chooses. And make sure he doesn’t build […]
Once upon a time there was a paranoid king. The king told his son and his advisors to kill his most proficient general because he envied his popularity (like how Commodus felt about Maximus). The king’s son rebuked his father for being petulant. The king said “Ok, I’ll chill out.” But then another battle occurred, […]
A group of us were in a meeting with The Boss this morning and He was telling us some stories about an ancient insecure king named Saul. King Saul was dominated by fear of failure. On the day of Saul’s coronation he hid from view because he couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing people; the […]
When you hear the word “godliness” what (or who) comes to mind? Really think about this for a moment …what is your paradigm of ‘godliness’? When you read, or hear, the word ‘godliness’ what automatically comes to mind? Approx. 2,000 years ago (when God was walking around a small, seemingly insignificant, part of planet earth) […]