You shall be called… the restorer of paths to live in. – Isaiah 58:12
Have you ever been called a Cretan? If so, it wasn’t meant as a compliment.
In the small, often-overlooked book of Titus, the Apostle Paul provides instructions to his young protégé. Paul had left Titus behind on the isle of Crete to complete the work of establishing and organizing the newly formed church. He was to appoint elders and establish order throughout the over 3,000 square miles of varied terrain. Continue reading “Do You Know Any Cretans?”
Today is the first day of a new year – at least on the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah a.k.a. Feast of Trumpets kicks off the Days of Awe which continues for the next ten days and culminates in Yom Kippur beginning at sunset on September 29th. Continue reading “Happy New Year 5778”
God is doing a great work in our days in the area of illuminating our understanding of grace. Perhaps more than any time since 1779, when former slave ship captain John Newton penned the words, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…,“ – people are asking the question, “what is grace?” and “what does it mean to me?” Let’s take a look at a few of the ways grace changes our lives. Continue reading “Illuminating Grace: 4 Ways that Grace Changes our Lives”
There has been such an overwhelming focus on God’s love over the past few decades that it may come as a surprise to many that there are things that God does indeed hate. Yes, it’s true. God is a God of love AND a God of hate. It shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise to us. After all we are made in His image and our passions flow in both directions as well.
While we don’t have time in this article to do an exhaustive study of the topic, it is fairly safe to say that all of the things God hates can be placed into two categories: 1.) Actions that diminish His rightful worship; 2.) Actions that diminish or corrupt His Creation. Continue reading “God Hates”
An easy metaphor for our current reality is a boat on a storm-tossed sea. A graphical representation of that metaphor could be painted as miles of ocean surrounding a tiny boat that is tilting to one side about to be engulfed by a large wave, as torrents of rain pour from above. Such a picture would provide an observer a singular perspective of the dangers of the storm and the isolation and vulnerability of the vessel.
Unfortunately, such a picture would not represent our modern perspective. That view is too far removed from the actual experience; the sheer terror of turmoil and danger; the pure adrenaline of the moment and the filters of our past experiences. No, our perspective is painted from the boat itself. We are often plagued not only with the fears we know, but also the ones we do not. Mental images of jagged rocks just beneath the surface, vessels and other dangers just beyond our ability to see, circling sharks awaiting their next meal. We are driven by our deepest fears as we desperately cling to some semblance of hope in a future where we can survive. Continue reading “Peace Be Still”
Have you ever found yourself at a place in life where the circumstances of the moment crowded out and overshadowed the Prophetic Promises spoken in the past? Have you ever found yourself so pressed by current adversities that you could see no path forward?
If you said yes, Joseph was certainly a person who could empathize. As a young man he literally had dreams of being a leader. In those dreams he saw his older brothers bowing down to him. I’m sure he was very excited at the prospect of a fruitful and meaningful life. I doubt he understood the course it would take to get there.
You never know where life’s precious lessons are going to come from. More often than not, they come from observing the actions of others. In my case, my observations yesterday were not of people, rather they were of two dogs.
After helping my youngest daughter pick out a couple of bottom feeders for her aquarium, I queued up in the rather long line to checkout. I knew it would take a little while, and told both of my girls that they could look around if they wanted while I waited in line.
Amazingly, they found the kittens and birds more interesting than the line, so they left. In my crowded solitude, I began to look around at the people and animals nearby. A lady in front of me was holding the leash of a gorgeous, young German Shepherd – not quite a puppy, but far from fully grown. His body was perfectly posed and he looked down the aisle with a seemingly curious look on his face.
It was an unmitigated eyesore. Bright pink, lavender trim and a lime green “Daisy Mae” painted in script across the headboard. There were a couple of broken spindles and a missing decorative ball. Still, there was something about it that drew Paul in like metal to a magnet. Careful inspection revealed that underneath all the paint, glue and amateur patchwork, the antique crib had been lovingly designed, cut, assembled and finished by the talented hands of a remarkable craftsman.
In its current condition, he knew Melinda would not be happy if he returned home with it. And he feared that the mere suggestion of placing their soon-to-be first-born baby in it to sleep, might cause his normally sweet and gentle wife to erupt in a hormonally charged outburst that could very-well negatively impact his health.
What would you say if someone approached and asked you if you are narrow-minded? Most of us would instinctively and impulsively respond, “Absolutely not.” But, perhaps we should re-consider our answer.
The phrase “narrow-minded” often conjures up all kinds of negative feelings and undesirable nouns to go with it: Bigot, Homophobe, Misogynist, Islamophobe, and Racist just to name a few. We have been conditioned to believe that the more open our mind is, the better person we are. What is surprising, is that God disagrees.
In 1970 the teenage son of a Pastor from California emerged triumphantly from the basement of The Pentecostal Tabernacle church. His family was scheduled to sing there that evening and realized they needed more material. Ronnie had excused himself for several minutes and returned carrying a trail of toilet tissue. On that unceremonious paper, were the lyrics to a brand-new song titled, “The Lighthouse.” After a little refinement in collaboration with his brother Kenny, the song was first recorded by The Happy Goodman’s and later by Elvis Presley.
Since that time, thousands of groups and soloists around the world have performed the song – including me. Although Ronnie Hinson has written many chart busting songs since that time, none have reached the awards, accolades and success of “The Lighthouse.”