Justice or Mercy?
Several years ago the father of one of my daughter’s friends was murdered during his late night shift at 7-11. A few weeks later I was called for jury duty. Imagine my shock when I was seated as a prospective juror for the trial of the two young men accused of his murder. When I […]
Slumber Party
The other day we were working on a new recipe for dinner. It was zucchini and penne pasta with ricotta cheese. As we went down the list of ingredients we found we didn’t have some and we considered how we might substitute. It took me back to an evening many years earlier. It was 1966. […]
Shame Off You
Has anyone said to you, “Shame on you!” or “You ought to be ashamed!”? Shame makes us feel small, flawed, not good enough. Shame adversely affects our relationship with God, ourselves, and others. It hinders our ability to experience God’s unconditional love. The good news is there is power in God’s Word to break through […]
Let the Fire Fall
When I was five, my folks took me camping in Yosemite National Park. At that time, each evening visitors would gather at Camp Curry in Yosemite Valley and the ranger would call out, “Let the fire fall.” 3,000 feet above the valley on Glacier Point, a huge bonfire had been built and on that signal, […]
Someday I Will Hear This Heart Again
On March 4th, 2000 our 22 year old son Paul and his fiancé Amy were struck by a drunk driver going the wrong way on the interstate. Amy was declared dead at the scene. Paul was airlifted to the hospital where he was declared brain-dead 3 days later, and we signed his body over for […]
The Glass Wall
I recently rented the movie Divergent. It takes place in Chicago sometime in the future. The world has been devastated by war. To keep from falling into chaos society has been structured along strict class lines: farmers, factory workers, intellectuals, government officials, warriors. Each youth upon coming of age must declare for a specific class and […]
The Father Ran
How do you picture God the Father? Long white hair, golden crown, sitting on a heavenly throne? Calm, in control? Do you picture Him running? The Bible does not describe the Father as being in a hurry at any time except once: The Parable of the Prodigal Son. When the father sees his son at […]
Time to Roar
Do I believe everything I read in the paper or see on TV? Do I believe what I read in the Bible? So why do I spend more time reading what I don’t believe than what I do believe? “But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, […]
Zombies
We have seen it on the hospital dramas: “He’s going into cardiac arrest! Give me the paddles. Clear!” Zap. Beep…beep…beep. “He’s back.” We were all dead in sin: drug dealers, pimps, sex offenders, gossips, unforgiving or prideful. All equally dead. Just another cold corpse in the spiritual morgue that stretches for miles. But God… I […]
In the Middle of the Storm
I read about a group of men who went out on this lake. Their boat was small but they were experienced fishermen. Nothing to worry about, they thought. Then the sky grew dark, the wind became strong and the waves were too high for their boat. They were going under! “We’re gonna’ drown! Jesus, help us!” […]
