People are like bouldering problems (i.e. the pleasure to be found in persons and community is discovered via painstaking perseverance, patient problem-solving, and joyfully partnering with others [2 Corinthians 1:24]). Some bouldering problems I can interact with and enjoy easily, immediately, and progressively. Like “The Blatant Secret” at Love Valley (if you’re interested in knowing […]
Once upon a time a dude came to Jesus to have Him settle an inheritance dispute with his brother. Of course we’re all assuming that Jesus will weigh-in on this matter! Of course Jesus will stop whatever else He is doing, and make this His top priority! Because this is a very big deal! A […]
Gather up a sundry batch of sinners (Nehemiah 8:1). Read them the Bible (Nehemiah 8:3). Everyone is super attentive (see Acts 17:11; Nehemiah 8:5). Everyone begs for the soul food of Scripture (see Matthew 4:4; Nehemiah 8:6). Utilize people like Eugene Peterson, Fred Buechner, C.S. Lewis, Robert Farrar Capon, Dr. Steve Brown, J.R.R. Tolkien, Flannery […]
The Ninevites were really bad! They were steeped in dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and their men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for […]
Once upon a time the LORD stirred up the spirit of the Persian potentate. The President of Persia (a distant predecessor of Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati) zealously decided to wholistically finance and endorse the agenda of the Maker whose ways are radically different than our ways. The Persian President delightedly deferred to the only true & […]
I’m reading through 1 & 2 Chronicles these days, and concomitantly I found myself listening to an audiobook entitled “The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino” by Simon Crittle. And I realized something… This macabre book about the mafia is thoroughly helping me understand the dynamics, and emphatic ghastliness, displayed by God […]
Some theologians will lead you in the right direction, and some theologians will lead you in the wrong direction. And here’s the catch …Jesus of Nazareth/Jesus the Samaritan lover/Jesus the temple wrecker is the one who absolutely and ultimately defines and dictates what THE RIGHT DIRECTION is. So, “Where do you want to go?” Do […]
The Holy Spirit told me, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” And then the Holy Spirit said, ““Behold, I […]
The church is a dysfunctional family. There is no escaping some degree of drama. Drama and dysfunction are like bad weather. You can build houses and structures that keep the elements out, but the weather is still battering the house, and you yourself cannot always avoid it (e.g. like when you are coming home from […]
The best sermon ever preached didn’t happen in a sanctuary …it happened on a mountainside (Matthew 5:1). Jesus loved being on mountains (Matthew 14:23; 15:29: 17:1; 28:16). Mountains are metaphors for the most edifying experiences of life. The rigors of acclimatizing to altitude, the perseverance required to hike, the problem solving required to climb, the […]