The crushing weight of shame and guilt can be on our shoulders for life. There’s a better way. “Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.” I... Read more
God makes his sun to shine on everyone, but when we use money to measure people’s value we come down on the side of “things you deserve in life: nothing – you have to earn it all.” Both are true to an extent, yet we often use this attitude as an excuse not to help those who badly need it. The Bible never had much praise for the slacker. “Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become... Read more
Feeling valued Each of us has a responsibility to make sure others feel valued, appreciated, and respected. This is participating with God in creation. Not feeling appreciated is a disaster for others. We are made in God’s likeness, not in the likeness of angels or cherubim or animals of the Earth. We develop into a mature relationship with God, participants in creation. “For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6 But... Read more
My first real job, besides putting up hay and driving a tractor, was radio announcer. Went to university for it. I had the first rock and roll show on a regional station, and did the morning show. Impressive? I left. Great experience and confidence builder, but it didn’t change my life – won’t go into the reasons. But radio and music are still a part of me. I regularly post music on social media and recently wrote song lyrics for... Read more
It’s been five weeks since my open-heart surgery. I look back at some of the things on my list that I was working on and hardly recognize them. I’ll get back into the swing of things, but for the moment I’m a new person. My head space is clear, and my wife thinks it’s permanent. Are we the collection of experiences that we’ve had and attitudes? Or are we like a flowing stream into which every time we step it’s... Read more
That’s not a joke. And it’s true. For the first part of my pastoral ministry, this was my message: God wants you to be happy. Happiness is not some practice of fools, some pollyanna attitude, nor is it some kind of brainwashing because we choose to be happy. It is a choice. We can focus on all that is horrible in the world and our lives, or we can focus on the good. Our focus is what our mind chooses... Read more
A society begins with some basic rules for living. So it was with most religions and especially with Judaism. The Hebrews (later Jews) would be different and they would be an example to others. Their being “chosen” was as an example, not something exclusive. It’s the same for Christians. Religion in Judaism was not a static thing, but continuous development. The Law of Moses seen in the first five books of the Bible were just the beginning. If you have... Read more
(Lower profile right now having had open heart surgery – will return to the Apostle John and Revelation soon.) July 4 – Appreciate who we are as a people who live in liberty Religious wars swept across Europe and through the Orient (Eastern Mediterranean) and into the Near East (India-China) from the 1600s on. Many lasted over 100 years. It was mostly Christians fighting Christians. Some began to read the Bible, newly in print, and then fought off institutional and... Read more
In John’s writings to churches (1 and 2 John), he told of other perils. First was that there were many false prophets, he called them anti Christs, who deny the Father and the Son. From 1 John 2,3,4: “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.” “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus... Read more
New Era of Conscience and Change series Prophecy in the Bible generally offered a message of hope to its hearers about the eventual defeat of its enemies. It called people back to belief and obedience. A very limited amount of it talked about the end of all things. But generally “the end” being talked about is the end of a time of suffering or end of an era. Jesus and the Apostle John talked about the end of the age.... Read more
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