We are almost to the Annunciation when an angel came and gave a Jewish woman a choice, she said “yes” to God’s will and so became the Mother of God. For me the Feast of Annunciation begins the countdown to Christmas. It may still be as hot as Houston in Houston, but December is coming.** Gabriel, God’s angelic messenger, told Mary that she was going to have a son and Mary was bewildered. She wanted a child, but she had... Read more
Devils are dull, deadly dull. Whenever I have run into traces of evil that might come from these hellish personalities, the common traits are mediocrity, trickery, and foolishness. This is nothing like mental illness which as a product of souls made in the image of God is more varied, complicated, interesting, and difficult to treat. Mental illness is real and colleagues have spent decades ministering to those of us who hurt from diseases like depression, anxiety, and irrational fears. Devils delight... Read more
I have known marriages destroyed by unbelief and souls saved by unbelief. The lover that cannot trust the beloved, who needs more proof than we can provide, destroys something beautiful looking for certainty. Unbelief can kill. Yet suspicion keeps us safe from danger when the flimflam from the grifter begins the pitch. We are unsure, we ask hard questions, and so we are saved from ruin. Unbelief can save. Notice though that the two results, while both good, are not... Read more
I watched a man run away from church, out of his mind, dirt flying as he ran, and for the first and only time heard my dad say: “Stop in the name of Jesus!” The man flew up in the air as if he had received a cross body block and fell to the road. Soon he was sane and in his right mind and I was glad. He was a fine fellow. We gave away our car, told nobody,... Read more
Much is lost that should not have been forgotten, but what has been recollected comes in fragments. So when there is an event we know happened, it has inspired legends, Scripture, and poets. Lord Byron wrote: The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Like the leaves of... Read more
Sometimes you will pick up the cutest child only to catch a whiff of the least cute odor. Yet somehow, someway, if it is your very own child or grandchild, there is a sweetness there. Really. Love helps this transfiguration happen! One of my favorite songs has this verse: In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me: As He died to make men holy, let... Read more
“What did the pastor preach?” “About sin.” “What did he say?” “He was against it.” So goes the old church joke and there was a point to it: being against sin isn’t much, certainly not much for an entire sermon. Of course, nowadays being against sin seems almost daring, since abusing the poor, killing the unborn, and sexual sin are lauded by different centers of power daily. Yet if we think back over history for just a minute, we recall... Read more
An odd thing about folks is that if you put a number on it, they believe you. I once was talking to a parent who would not believe their student was failing and, in a moment of frustration, turned the computer screen in their direction. “Look,” I said. “Here are the numbers.” “What does it know about me?” they asked. This was odd and so I tried to explain that I had inputted the numbers on the screen and done... Read more
God save the Republic! Following the arguments of Hunter Baker and Warren Throckmorton about the nature of the United States with their follow up responses to each other, I am thankful for this country. We get to argue about the very nature of the nation and for most of human history, almost nobody could safely challenge basic ideas regarding their state! What do I think? I think the United States has been very clever in our solution to the “church-state” problem... Read more
David Barton is a mess. No scholar I know, no matter how conservative, will defend his views of the American founding. Despite this, he is influential in some Evangelical circles. If you doubt his incompetence, start Googling his quotations of founders and see if they match the source documents. They do not. Two scholars I trust, Warren Throckmorton and Hunter Baker, gave us advice in understanding the Founding if we assume Barton is wrong. Now we shall hear these fine... Read more
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