I was on a morning walk recently with some friends in the mountains, and met someone on the walk who was visiting one of our neighbors. We had a delightful conversation about the different things we’d done with our lives. I told him that prior to living in Seattle I ran an outdoor program that was a blend of “Outward Bound” and “Bible Teaching”. (For those interested in such a program today, the best one I know of is in... Read more
We have heard it said that God never changes, and that is eternally true. He is always loving, forgiving, truthful, merciful, graceful, compassionate, slow to anger, and faithful. But God can sometimes change His mind about a situation due to the prayerful requests of His children. If there is a situation that He chooses not to change, He still responds by changing us in the midst of our tough circumstances. He knows what is best for us, and when we... Read more
Being transformed into the image of God is a process of being disenchanted with our deceptive ego, realizing how deficient it really is. The only way people can ever be freed from their fears is to be freed from themselves. There is a direct association between the amount of fear in our lives and the amount of attachment we have to ourselves. The person who is beyond fear has given up the need to control or possess. This person knows... Read more
You can never go wrong when you approach prayer in complete honesty and humility. Talk honestly with God. Don’t give God who you think you are supposed to be, but give yourself to Him in your nakedness, who you really are in the present moment. Praying without ceasing is having a God consciousness through all of life, including our distractions, anger, and controls. Instead of a self centered monologue, our life becomes a God centered dialogue that sees everything in... Read more
Imagine insurmountable rows of slot machines and the only way to win is to hit the jackpot 250 times in a row. The odds are against you. Yet, these are the same odds that would have to be overcome for the simplest life-form to evolve and form each of 250 proteins by random chance. It’s seemingly impossible. (From the documentary “Expelled” [2008]) Though the premise above is irrational and illogical, the entire “theory” of evolution depends on the same “logic.”... Read more
Empathy is the powerful and rare ability to imagine what motivates someone else to act. It is lending emotion towards someone else’s experience. Self-absorption kills empathy, let alone compassion. When we focus on ourselves, our world gets smaller as our problems become larger. But when we focus on others, our world expands, and our own problems seem smaller as we increase our capacity for connection or compassionate action. The most beautiful people I know are those who have known defeat,... Read more
“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (Proverbs 4:23 GNB). Solomon’s proverbial insight are as relevant today as ever before. “Be careful how you think,” he tells us, “your life is shaped by your thoughts.” In the New Testament we are told by the apostle Paul that our lives are transformed by the “renewing of our minds”(Romans 12:2). In other words, beliefs determine behavior. We are living in historic times – times that require deep conviction... Read more
If there is anything that marks my generation of leaders, it’s the desire to be “radical”—to violently overthrow old paradigms. We want to shake up the status quo in the church, in government, in business, in philanthropy. And this is good. By and large millennial Christians want offer lives in service to God and others by offering new and creative solutions. This is good. But if I could speak a word of caution, from one rabble-rouser to another, I would... Read more
Reclaiming the process of discipleship will require a total overhaul of how we do church. I get funny looks from some charismatic Christians when I tell them I believe God is calling us back to radical discipleship. Those in the over-50 crowd—people who lived through the charismatic movement of the 1970s—are likely to have a bad taste in their mouths when it comes to the dreaded “D word.” That’s because the so-called Discipleship Movement (also known as the Shepherding Movement)... Read more
Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. Luke 6:47-48 (ESV) The theme of building a house is prominent in the biblical narrative. “House” doesn’t always mean a... Read more
Robert Ricciardelli
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