God: “Stop asking me to bless you.”
How many times have you prayed, “God bless __________”? We naturally pray for God’s blessing on us, on loved ones, and on things we do or things we care about. But one day as I sincerely prayed God would bless me, I sensed this impression as a reply: “Stop asking me to bless you.” What? Then I sense God’s prompting: “Be the kind of person I am pleased to bless.” And the same thing went for my church: “Be the kind of church I am pleased to bless.” I thought about that—a lot. Then I started…
The Killer Remote
This remote control nearly takes my breath away. Complicated. That’s the only word I can think of when I look at it. Sixty-two buttons. And four of the buttons are color codes, which, in various combinations with other buttons, vastly increases the possible functions. A killer remote. That’s what this is. It will wreak havoc on the brain functions of the poor soul who tries to make sense of the whole thing. On the other hand, some people would probably love it because it does so much. Complicated. This remote tells me that life is too busy and stuffed, that…
Whose Presence?
I was in a meeting where one of the guys said of a church leader, “I love to be in his presence.” The sentence repeated itself in my mind, and I asked myself, Do people love to be in my presence? I could not find a good answer. How about you? I’m not talking about being smart or funny or the center of attention or anything egotistical. I’m talking about character. Some people might like to be our presence. But let’s go beyond family, friends, or church members. Do people like to be in your presence? Whether the answer is…
New Life out of Old
On a hike I come across an old, fallen tree, its wood rotting. Out of it grows a sapling. The sapling is not growing out of the ground; it’s growing out of the tree. New life out of old. Some might say it’s like reincarnation, but no, the sapling is not a rebirth of the dead tree. It grows from a seed off a standing tree and finds its nourishment in the decaying wood of the fallen tree. The dead tree only provides the place for the new tree to grow. We often talk about this kind of…
The King of Thorns
The eternal Word of God, incarnated in a human body, stands before the Roman governor Pilate. Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is questioned and scourged. Kings live in palaces. But the day Jesus stands before Pilate, bound and beaten, is the only time he ever sets foot in an earthly palace. Pilate repeatedly tries to let Jesus go, but the leaders of the crowd relentlessly pressure Pilate and manipulate Roman law to corner him. He thinks he has authority over Jesus and fears even more when he realizes he does not. He tries in vain to…
