Welcome to a series here at Patheos to follow up on my post How to Stop Being Afraid with wisdom from Psalm 46. I don't know about you, but whenever I feel afraid, I start think about what I can do. I look for some way to solve the problem. I confess that my first move for overcoming fear is often to trust in my own strength and not in the strength of God. I don't think I'm alone. As I noted earlier in this series How to Stop Being Afraid, when we're facing tough stuff in life God Is Our … [Read more...]
How to Stop Being Afraid? In God We Trust
January 11, 2013 By 1 Comment
Welcome to a series here at Patheos to follow up on my post How to Stop Being Afraid with wisdom from Psalm 46. No. "In God we trust" did not make its first appearance upon US currency. Psalm 46:1 says that "God is our refuge." The psalmist makes this incredible claim that the infinite God is our defense at the start of Psalm 46 to help us to stop being afraid. Building on the simple yet deeply profound statement that it all starts with remembering God, we now get personal. The God of the … [Read more...]
Why Joe Biden is Wrong on Gun Control
January 10, 2013 By
Vice President used this wrong thinking yesterday to justify why new gun control action should be taken by the federal government: "If our actions result in saving only one life, they're worth taking," Biden said at a meeting of victims and gun control proponents at the White House. "But I'm convinced we can affect the well-being of millions of Americans and take thousands of people out of harm's way if we act responsibly." With all due respect, Mr. Vice President, (and I'm scraping the bottom … [Read more...]
Paedophilia: Why Not?
January 8, 2013 By 40 Comments
Paedophilia. Why not? Some of you are shocked that I would even bring up the topic of adults having sexual relations with children: "How could you ask such a question?! And on a religious site, no less!" Some of you caught wind of it in my FaithWalker's Daily report this morning. Others of you may have stumbled across this post expecting something very different. Unfortunately. For all of you, my question is this: As a pluralistic, post-Christian culture here in the US, what is our moral … [Read more...]
Here’s a Quick Way to Destroy Your Kids
January 4, 2013 By 5 Comments
Our kids have never been good at following the crowd or "sheepwalking" as Seth Godin calls it. Or following the signs at local parks that read: "Stay on Prepared Trails" When I was a kid at the same parks, there were no signs. There were barely paths. The whole point of going was to get off the trail. Explore a mysterious cave. Jump across a tricky precipice. Race up the side of a cliff that was likely to cause a bruise or scrape or both. No, I didn’t wear a helmet. There was one thing … [Read more...]
Help! I Need Somebody!
December 18, 2012 By 2 Comments
It's not a word I like to use often. Maybe you're different. It seems some people are. They use it all the time. The dreaded word? Help. Or better yet -- Help! I need somebody! The last few weeks brought me to a place where just about all I could do was cry, "Help!" I thought about crying, "Uncle!" then went with help as the more Biblical approach. One reason I had gone dark for two weeks here at Patheos was that I experienced a back injury that took me off my feet and out of action … [Read more...]
Self Esteem Test: How Would You Describe Yourself in Just One Word?
November 28, 2012 By 4 Comments
Annoying. My six-year-old son recently began describing himself with that one word -- annoying. He took some pride in it, in fact. Maybe it was because he'd been watching Dennis the Menace a few times too many. He does resemble Dennis a bit, come to think of it. More likely it had more to do with his siblings labeling him as just that on far too many occasions. You'll be happy to know he has now switched to another, more fitting word -- handsome. Take a simple self esteem test. How would … [Read more...]
How to Stop Being Afraid
November 23, 2012 By 6 Comments
For my Patheos friends, this post kicks off a series over the next few weeks as we unpack the following steps from Psalm 46 in more detail to discover God's wisdom on how to stop being afraid. Enjoy! Smack dab in the middle between real life and real faith is -- real fear. Fear of failure. Fear that we'll look foolish. Fear that everyone will laugh when we do. Fear that __________ -- fill in the blank with your own fear. There's no shortage of them. I believe that for those who have … [Read more...]
Why Your Faith Does Determine Your Politics
November 13, 2012 By 8 Comments
One of many thoughtful responses to my recent post 5 Things I Don't Understand about Christians Who Voted for Obama caught my attention. It expressed a thought that I saw reflected in other responses, though not with such clarity. It was this: "My theology does not determine my politics." I couldn't disagree more. Tell that to the 9/11 hijackers. Tell that to William Wilberforce. Or to Martin Luther King, Jr. Or to Jesus, Paul, David, or countless other Biblical figures. Let's say what we … [Read more...]
Election 2012: Do Government Programs Produce Government-Friendly Voters?
November 12, 2012 By 27 Comments
I am pro-government. There. I just shocked some of you into spewing coffee all over your keyboard. After you clean that up, allow me explain. God made it clear through countless inspired writers of Scripture that He ordained government. In fact, he added a pretty sobering warning that whoever resists the authority of government, resists God. He also added that, should the two collide, we are to obey God rather than government. Unfortunately, because government is comprised of sinful human … [Read more...]
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