Ever get a bit overwhelmed-- like there is just too much to do? A few days ago I did. I had received quite a few back-to-back calls from persons wanting a spiritual perspective on some things and from others that wanted prayer for specific issues in their lives. Finally, I finished my last call and settled down to start praying about these cases. Within a minute I get a message that the police had declared a lockdown at one of the neighborhood high schools-- one that our two daughters go to-- Continue Reading
Salvation: Now or Later?
"The salvation of the Lord" is a concept that echoes down through the Scriptures. I used to think of the promise of God's salvation as a promise for us in the far-off future. Like maybe after this life. But those early writers and characters were often in tough situations, and they were in need of immediate help, not of some far-off future help. A quick look at various Bible translations shows that the Hebrew word that is translated as 'salvation' is also translated as 'real help', 'victory', Continue Reading
Celebrating Christmas
So I got to thinking, What am I commemorating, celebrating, honoring this Christmas? The birth of the baby Jesus? Well, certainly to some degree. On Martin Luther King day, I honor Dr King. But, even more, I honor and celebrate what Dr King embodied— each individual’s right to be free. Similarly, this Christmas I’m celebrating what Jesus embodied and showed: that everyone can feel God’s closeness, love and influence. Feeling close to God is feeling the Christ. Christ is our innate understanding Continue Reading
Finding it difficult to ‘turn the other cheek’?
One of the most well-known demands of Jesus is to 'turn the other cheek'. He says that when somebody hits us on our right cheek, that we should turn the other cheek. For a long time I have struggled at what Jesus was trying to get at here. I've read with interest what others have written about it but not been entirely satisfied. Certainly its not consistent with Jesus' sayings or actions to think that he was saying that we should just allow ourselves to be mistreated by others. So, what was he Continue Reading