Ephesians 4: 1-13Paul has laid out all that Christ has done. It is massive, huge, extravagant! What will be our response?Will we realize that Jesus is truly our great treasure, sell all we have and follow him? Or, will we look at it like we look at the Tic Tacs in the checkout line at… Read more

There is simply a holy desperation I need to pursue God. There needs to be a total frustration with how things are going, a stirring up the Holy Spirit wonderfully brings, that drives me nuts! If I don’t have it, I just keep in a routine that is deadening. There is a choice: Keep going… Read more

Thoughts on the Discipline of Celebration. Celebration DOES take discipline! We are too much into amusement (which is simply turning the brain off) and not enough into recreation. Some ideas for celebration: 1. Begin NOW. Don’t wait until the grass is greener! THIS is the day the Lord has made…rejoice in it! 2. Find a… Read more

The fruits of holy obedience are many, but two that are linked closely are passion for personal holiness and the sense of utter humility (Thomas Kelly). When we are out to fully obey God we gain a craving in our soul for absolute purity.When we are out to fully obey God we find out that… Read more

“…holy and listening and alert obedience remains, as the core and kernel of a God-intoxicated life, as teh abiding pattern of sober, work-aday living.” (Thomas Kelly) Begin where you are. Obey now. We need a listening ear. One way to develop the listening ear is to simply obey as quickly as possible. Learn by doing.… Read more

“The life that intends to be wholly obedient, wholly submissive, wholly listening, is astonishing in its completeness. Its joys are ravishing, its peace profound, its humility the deepest, its power world-shaking, its love enveloping, its simplicity that of a trusting child.” (Thomas Kelly) This is not an impossible dream. This is the life lived by… Read more

“Holy Obedience” is a chapter in Thomas Kelly’s excellent book, A Testament of Devotion. Some thoughts: “There are plenty to follow our Lord half-way, but not the other half. They will give up possessions, friends, and honors, but it touches them too closely to disown themselves.” (Kelly is quoting Meister Eckhart.) We have a high… Read more

There are days…and there are days. One particular battle we face in the city where I pastor is racism. It is so prevalent, and most of the citizens (who are white) do not even recognize it. It is breaking my heart. Then, I get a letter from someone in my congregation (anonymously) that they are… Read more

What kind of life do you live? Is it a dangerous one? I don’t mean a life of crime or internet scams, or something like that. I mean dangerous in terms of giving up yourself and throwing yourself into the vastness of the Kingdom of God? As I am finishing up Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain,… Read more

I have not done justice to this blog. I have not done justice to the name I put on this blog. It has been too random. It has been disconnected. It has been too much about my own random thoughts and too little about being apprenticed to Jesus. I want to invite you to a… Read more