We yearn. Pant. Thirst. Long. Faint. Cry out. In the Psalms in Job and in Isaiah we cry out to the Lord with desire, with aching, with hunger. “I will see him with my own eyes.” [Job 19:25-27] “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” [Psalm 42:1-2] “I long to dwell in your […]
I thought my readers might like to know how I came to be writing this blog and the books I’ve written. So here goes. I started writing before I knew why I was writing, before I had a glimpse of the future. I am so used to just following all the suggestions that God makes […]
Don’t wait until you die to live in the kingdom of God! Jesus spoke of the kingdom in the present tense: it “is at hand,” [Matthew 3:2 KJV] or “has come near you,” [Matthew 3:2 NIV] “is within you,” [Luke 17:21 KJV] or “is in your midst,” [Luke 17:21 NIV] or “is already among you.”[Luke […]
Jesus was drawn to the poor, the lame, the blind, the rejected of society, and the non-Jews like the Roman Centurion and the Samaritan. He spent time with the Pharisees and Scribes, the elite of the Jews. He was interested in what they wanted. If someone asked for healing for themselves or their servant or […]
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 […]
A recurring theme that I write about is this: that belief in Jesus Christ being the Son of God is merely the first step in a journey with Christ. And “being born again” or surrendering our lives to God is a second step. These are early steps along the way. After these two steps comes […]
Pride in our church’s beliefs, putting others down because they don’t have the right beliefs, preaching at others’ sins without acknowledging our own and without getting to know who the person really is—these are very human ways of calling attention to ourselves and taking it away from others. They are ego-based actions which elevate us—that […]
One way to look at our lives here on Earth is that we are born out of Eden into a land of free will. I know—I am altering the Biblical story in Genesis a bit! But Genesis Chapter 3 seems to me to be suggestive at least that Adam and Eve ruined our chances here […]
It is not the New Jerusalem. Or Zion. Or Canaan. The Land of Milk and Honey. The Promised Land. It is the kingdom of God as Jesus described it in many places in the New Testament. It is not a place, but a state of mind. We live in the kingdom of God when we […]
Any time we are aware of God’s presence, we step into the kingdom, even if only for a few seconds. When we can forget our false self’s needs, we are there. Being fully present to another person will take us there. The beauty of a sunset can transport us to the kingdom, as can any […]