Free Will and Rebellion

Feb 13, 2017

We could call the ancient Israelites rebellious—that was certainly their nature in the wilderness of the Exodus story. Every single time they couldn’t find the water they wanted or the food they needed, every single time they were afraid, i.e. when Moses stayed 40 days up on Mt. Sinai with God, every time things didn’t […]

What the small self, the ego wants:

Oct 10, 2016

No problems or challenges All the stuff it wants Lots of good attention from others An easy life To be self-sufficient To be left alone, to be free to do whatever s/he wants when s/he wants to. To be in control of its life. Following the wants of the small self only leads to more […]

Communion of Saints

Aug 22, 2016

I’ve just finished reading two classic 20th century Christian books, Discovering the Depths by William Clemmons and The Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly. I feel like I have been swimming in the depths of Christian life. I have read some 15 books written about living a deeper Christian life this spring, but these two […]

Unpacking our Stuff!

Jul 25, 2016

  Imagine that you’ve been restless and traveling your whole life and finally you’ve decided to head home. When you arrive and start to settle in, the first task is to unpack all the stuff you’ve carried with you and to decide what you will do with it. And with each item you decide that […]

Surrender is the Key

Jun 13, 2016

The spiritual journey comes with many challenges and many joys. The first challenge is giving up my life to Christ and agreeing to let him lead me where he will. And then comes a long period of retraining/transformation of how I think, how I feel, how I think about myself, how I relate to other […]

If God is Your Co-Pilot, Change Seats

Apr 25, 2016

“If God is your co-pilot change seats!” read the sign at Avondale Presbyterian Church in Charlotte for a week or more this February. This sign amused me because I have long thought of my life as an airplane with God as the pilot and me the co-pilot. There is a lot of back and forth […]

Belief in God is the first step

Feb 15, 2016

  A belief in Jesus Christ as the son of God is the first step, the gateway into acquiring the mind of Christ(1 Corinthians 2:16), but it is not the end-all and be-all of the Christian journey. If we stop at this threshold of belief and never turn our lives over to Christ—the second step—we […]

Our Purpose

Dec 29, 2014

If you have sat in church and said the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday and not felt compelled to be a part of those who would usher in the Kingdom here on earth, if you think it is up to God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, then I think you are sadly mistaken. Aren’t we Christ’s […]

With All My Heart

Nov 24, 2014

“I so want this with all my heart amen” wrote one of my readers, SW, in October this year, in a comment on “The Promise of Isaiah.” She was expressing a deep longing for her whole self to be restored to the Lord and for living a purposeful life. Interestingly, that deep longing is the […]

Addictive Thinking

Sep 29, 2014

I have been thinking lately about not being or having an addictive personality. After all, I’ve never been addicted to drugs or alcohol. But I was brought up short recently by this thought: what do you mean you’re not addictive? You spent ¾ of your life being addicted to self-doubt and fear. You considered yourself […]