I’ve been cleaning up some long-standing piles of “things to be filed” and among them, I found this challenging quote from Henri Nouwen and his book, Here and Now, (138-139). “The compassionate life is the life of downward mobility! In a society in which upward mobility is the norm, downward mobility is not only discouraged … More The Way of Downward Mobility
Reading with the Pastor Luke 6 and Psalm 81 a brief offering for “The Poetry Project”* Read Psalm 81 Sing for joy to God our strength; …… Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. (vs. 1) . . . Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. (vs. 10b) Our Souls Leak My soul … More Our Souls Leak
Reading with the Pastor Luke 5 and Psalm 79-80 In the Masoretic Text (MT), the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the middle letter in the Psalter is the middle letter in the Hebrew word translated as “forest” in Psalm 80:13. In the MT it is raised slightly above the line to show off its … More A Confidence that Grows with Memory
Sunday Musings Reading with the Pastor Matthew 21 and Psalm 26 This is a story from history that will show you how to read Old Testament quotations in the New Testament. “One afternoon late in 1946” a Bedouin shepherd boy threw a stone into a cave and heard the sound of pottery breaking. By 1948 news began to … More How to Read OT Quotations in Matthew
Rereading Classic Books Last night, while re-reading for the fourth time, John Piper’s Desiring God, I was reminded why I am a “Christian Hedonist.” Buy the book and read it slowly. Back in college when I first came to trust in Christ, when I first starting reading the Bible regularly (hours a day at times), … More Desiring God
I was driving back from Illinois in a rented truck to my new home in South Carolina. Talk radio and country music stations were all I could get and I was tired of both. So I turned the radio off and started praying for my kids and the kids of a former staff member from … More What if Teardrops are Blessings?
Christ is Glorious. Last night was the Grammys, the annual homage to music icons and celebration of the previous year’s “bests”. It is one of the ubiquitous Hollywood celebrations of the arts that is equal parts show, puff, drama, politics, and glorification of music and musicians. It is part of the machine of the culture that sends thousands … More Last Night was The Grammys
A Christmas Meditation The Bible opens with the magnificent words, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Majestic. There is nothing but God and God creates all that is seen and unseen. Eventually, He creates “Friday’s Child”–man. Man walks with God in a garden and world designed for him by a loving … More A Promise of Light
For all the “broken” people who know the reality of need: “You see,” Dr. Iverson said, “If you are broken, you don’t have to ask to be used. God delights to use broken people. That’s the only way to be filled [with the Spirit] and it’s the only way to become useable.” See this link … More Spirit of the Living God, Break Me in Pieces
A few weeks ago I went to the funeral for the mother of one of the elders of Trinity Church. The funeral itself was at Calvary Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) in Watseka. Pastor Don Love did a marvelous job but he was also helped by the marvelous funeral liturgy of his church and the genius … More A Hymn Story for a Flawed Church
