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Prophesy!
The journey through Lent is so intense in examination, I am incredibly thankful for the texts we have for next Sunday! They are about RESURRECTION! Ezekiel 37 is the vision Ezekiel had of the valley of dry bones. I love this passage. Ezekiel is standing in this parched grave yard and the question comes, “Can these bones live?” There is…
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Pastors and Friends
The statistic still rattles my brain. After all these years and what seems to be millions of attempts to get pastors to be more transparent, more accountable, more friendly, this post says 70% of pastors do not have close friends. One, that number still astounds me. I also wonder just WHO the pastors are the author talks to. He’s the…
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Kingdom DNA
I am using the Ephesians 5 text today rather than the gospel text for my Sunday message. All week long the Spirit has been stirring my heart. I am to BE light. Paul doesn’t say, “You were IN darkness, now you are IN light.” He says, “You WERE darkness, now you ARE light.” The Kingdom has DNA. Darkness has DNA.…
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The Place of Prayer and Expectation
Last night we had what we call a “watch of the Lord.” We give part of the night watch to the Lord, so we open up the church from 8 p.m. to midnight for prayer. The theme I had in my heart last night was “light.” There are different aspects of light and I reflected on a few of them…
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Rob Bell: There Really IS a Hell!
Following up on his controversial (and hot-selling) book, Love Wins, Rob Bell told Diane Sawyer in a special interview for ABC News that he had a vision two nights ago. He spent 90 minutes in a very dark, hot place. In this vision he saw the flames of hell and realized they are indeed eternal. (In a side note, he…
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Translations and Readability
As a pastor I want a translation to make sense to my congregation, yet I just don’t like it to be too “informal.” Here is yet another reason why I am preferring the NIV 2011 (Old TNIV). Which makes more sense? 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over…
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Talkin’ Baseball…
Today, March 31, is Opening Day for baseball. How exciting is this… not? I love the game. I’m completely out of step with everything else, I know. I wish I had grown up in the 50s, but I didn’t. Deal with it. Nevertheless, the game needs a couple of changes. 1. Cut the season. This is ridiculous. It’s 29 degrees…
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Walking Through the Dark Valleys
Psalm 23 deserves a slow walk at times. I’ve come back to it all week because I don’t want to rush through such a treasured Psalm this time. One of the most difficult things for us to learn is knowing the presence of our Shepherd in our darkest valleys. If God is really there, why is it so dark? Isn’t…
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The End of a Journey
I have walked slowly through Eugene Peterson’s memoir, The Pastor. I have enjoyed the morsels. It has been a feast of steak dinners on a regular basis. When I finished last night I was sad. This part of my journey with Peterson has ended. His life is so rich. I want his mantle in my own life and ministry. Through…
