My struggle with hope is an indication of how hard I find it to keep my focus on Jesus without being overwhelmed by our spiritual climate. I look upon our situation in the Church and it seems to be without hope. Everywhere churches are closing and congregations shrinking. Yes there are notable exceptions, the mega … Continue reading Hope for the hopeless
Why is it that when something is going wrong it is hard to believe God will save me? I know I am not alone in this, I see it written all over Psalm 116. It is not that the author has no faith, he knows the Lord has shown mercy in the past and responds … Continue reading Praying in trouble
When I focus on my Father, I see His kindness and His justice in the way He tenderly deals with my failure and restores me. As I focus on Him, I begin to live out His values of kindness, justice and righteousness. The means a person uses to focus on the Father is their spiritual … Continue reading Focus on the Father
The cross stands as an embarrassment! If I proclaim a God of power it is embarrassing that my God was taken to a cross and executed. If I expect the Lord to bring physical and emotional wholeness then I am embarrassed by the physical torture and emotional abuse He endured. If I look to Scripture … Continue reading The embarrassing cross
The division between Spirit and Word is a false dichotomy of our time played out between conservatives and charismatics. Do I experience God through the Spirit’s leading in worship and seeing Him at work through the miraculous? or, Do I experience Him through seeing Him transform people from the inside out as they live in … Continue reading Word & Spirit – false dichotomy.
We are supposed to be under grace not law, so why is there a de facto legalism? Maybe it is introduced to avoid the displeasure of God? We tend to believe that He is unwilling to act in the presence of sin yet God can do whatever He pleases, even through people I see as … Continue reading Mercy triumphs over law
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