Leader || Preacher || Teacher
Ready Player One released in movie theaters nationwide this weekend and is based on the 2011 Earnest Cline novel. It was one of my favorites reads from 2017. In the book, teen, Wade Watts along with most of the world’s population logs into a virtual world called the Oasis. The Oasis is where they go to escape the terrors of the real world. Sound familiar? It’s familiar because it’s our story too.
Continue reading “Left to Our Own Devices: Ready Present One”
I am the father of three brave girls. Well, they are brave most of the time. The other times when they are not so brave is often due to bugs. Bugs are their kryptonite. For you, it may be clowns (thanks “It”). What I have observed is that people can be brave but often they are not. The end of Mark’s gospel is a commentary on humanity today, “…they were afraid.”
Jesus was asked a lot of questions during his earthly ministry. In Marks’s gospel, he is asked a series of them by the Sadducees and teachers of the law. They were leading questions, questions of entrapment. And the questions kept coming until Jesus answered the one about what’s most important. His answer, love. Continue reading “Let Love Lead You”
What does cursing a fig tree, overturning money tables, throwing a mountain into the sea, prayer, and forgiveness have to do with having faith in God? Well, everything. And for Jesus, they represent obstacles and a reordering of the path of salvation for all people.
The Babylonians invaded Judah in 605 BC and took many young Jewish males into captivity. They took the best and brightest which included Daniel. Daniel may have been around 15 years old at the time (a teachable age). The Babylonians would then convert their captives to the ways of their culture. These young men after a three-year training were to become servants to the king. They would receive a privileged status.
That doesn’t sound too bad, right? Tempting, is it not? Continue reading “Self-Indulgence VS Self-Sacrifice”
Storms enter your life and Jesus may not prevent them from forming, yet even in a furious squall, he will bring calm and renewal. Continue reading “Storms of Renewal”
Do this. Write down what it is that torments you. What is the cause of your fear? Is this also the cause of your suffering? What is binding you and keeping you chained and enslaved to darkness? It may not be just one thing. It could be several things, but maybe you could still give it a name. Put a name to it. Write it down.