And may those who wield them, find grace and mercy ...... and peace. Continue reading

... they unified around that Big Idea and ended up in utter confusion. Continue reading

I hate racial slurs. They make my skin crawl. I do not use them or allow them in my presence. Yet, even living in a non-homogeneous home, I have heard them. What kind of culture do we want to shape? Continue reading

Who may seek sanctuary in the sacred space of God's presence and protection? Continue reading

Jesus' heart does not allow him to pass a man with a withered hand and not do all he can to help and restore. He can no less pass an opportunity to make a teaching point in his own indignation - even if it creates hostility against him. Continue reading

Jacob was not the last character in the Bible to wrestle with God. David often struggled in prayer in that place where emotions are raw, fears exposed, and bitterness laid bare. He was shaped by these encounters because they were honest and real. Continue reading

Devaluation of life is a cancer wherever it emerges, whether it it unborn life, lives of people living among us, or the lives of future generations who will inhabit this planet. We must create a climate and community that values, nurtures, protects, and supports life and affirms its dignity. How that is accomplished is often a matter of hot debate. However, I believe that such a climate would take much of this out of the political arena and return it to a realm free of posturing and slogan-wielding. Personally, I cringe whenever I overhear my grandson playing video games where... Continue reading

There is no tug of war between the deep life of the Spirit and the outward life of service, peace, and justice.... Satisfied with His likeness,Beholding His face in righteousness,Fully awakened from dullness of mind,Fully engaged, embracing this day,We move on in the spirit of Psalm 17. Continue reading

... it represents something larger ... not political, although it can be ... something holistic about violence and something inside the best of us that must be bridled, processed, understood, and harnessed for its purpose. Continue reading

Today, your assignment it to see the spark in someone in whom you do not expect a spark. Continue reading

I don't argue much. There's no future in it. Read my words carefully. I choose them carefully most of the time. There are nuances, but not usually implications. There is exploratory territory, but I do not make all your applications. If it fits you, fine; if not, move on. It's not about or for you. I do not generally argue points I am not specifically making at the time. Of course, my presuppositions are subject to being challenged to the extent that they are identified or known. Otherwise, they are still open to inquiry. I may argue my point, but... Continue reading

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. -Lamentations 3:22 Evil lurks in the world around us, and yet, the world is not consumed. Evil emerges in our own motives and actions and neither are we consumed. We are grieved by the suffering of humanity, but we know not what to do and we do not trust our capacity to do anything. Is God waiting for us to feel the way He feels about the world and to make a difference? Sometimes, the problems of the world seem like insurmountable mountains to... Continue reading

The fact that we have not heard something does not prove that it has not been said and said often. It simply means that it has not been said to you, in your presence, or when you were listening, it has been said on a "channel" you are not tuned to, it has been drowned out by other voices including those who say it has not been said, or it has not been considered sensational enough to report and be re-tweeted. So, in case any of those are the case: Peaceful, orderly, non-violent protests are as American as apple pie... Continue reading

One must respond as Jesus did - to resist the evil, but not the edge of the sword.And King did not just stand for the abuse, but, like Jesus, moved toward it ....And led the way for each of us ...to resist evil even at the cost of our own blood.That is how we become peacemakers in a world of violence and injustice. Continue reading

How does a man or woman in public life, one who wields power and exercises authority, repent? How does this person follow the rule of a different kingdom while working for Caesar or Herod? Continue reading

Unlike most of us, God never turns His head to avoid looking at the unpleasantness of the poor, the ugliness of the broken, or the raw pain of the oppressed. He gazes into the eyes of the disenfranchised and hears the cry that they utter. Perhaps our greatest opportunity to reflect God's presence to the poor today begins with looking people in the eye and hearing their voices. "Praise the LORD, you that fear him; stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory. For he does not despise nor abhor the poor... Continue reading

Make me a spigot through which grace flows. Continue reading

Mighty God lifts humble humanity. All knowing and poly-focused Sovereign lifts the lowly. God of all sufficiency and no need cares to rectify injustice. LORD of creation, whose thoughts are beyond our thoughts .... Knows and enters into our thinking to reveal as much of Himself as ... As we can handle. "He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground." - Psalm 147:4-6 (ESV) Continue reading

... somehow in the midst of the secular movements and worldly wisdom that is flung about they see God. They realize that there is no secular time or season, that God is always moving in history, that new years, new months, new days, and new seasons are all a part of His plan. Continue reading

Solomon solidified his leadership through the exercise of practical wisdom. Continue reading

The love of God is a tender love.It is a father’s love.It is a patient love, understanding, compassionate, forgiving, and gracious. Continue reading

What is within you today? Not all of it is positive, but when you offer it to God, He is blessed because He can take it and transform it for His own purposes. Nor is everything within you negative. You cannot be the judge of that. All you can do is commit everything within you to His glory and allow Him to sort it out. Continue reading

Brightest Brilliance, Breathtaking Vision, Expanding across a grey sky Dispelling darkness in a Festival of spectral colors. Beams unfiltered Into these eyes dimmed and Heart quenched in the Calcifying hardness of my Stubborn stillness and Persistent self-interests. Disturb me, God of Light. Trouble my soul from false and Superficial peace and Pastel imitations of Light Until I ... Desperately Earnestly Eagerly Seek and Find ... LIGHT in Thee. Continue reading

Home! Home, sweet, home! That’s where we are going. That is where we belong. Anything short of home is still part of the journey. Anything that is part of the journey is subject to dangers, toils, and snares. But after the journey is complete, those things will have no power at all. Continue reading

How do we find the way? Jesus simplified the answer. He would be their compass. He would be their guide. It was not necessary for them to know anything more that Him. If they would follow Him, He would provide the way, the truth, and the life within His own person. Continue reading