Light in a Dark Place
The materialism of Christmas shopping used to be tempered by carols of angels and the newborn Christ. But now that anything “religious” has been pervasively banned from stores, we’re reduced to hollow gibberish about Santa and happy holidays. What to say? An alternative to feeling angry or cynical or sad is to remember that the original holiday, the Roman Saturnalia, was a happy pagan holiday to begin with. And before that, Jesus wasn’t particularly welcomed in Israel either—Herod tried to kill him (with horrific collateral damage to baby boys around Bethlehem). If Jesus were so inclined, he might say to us something…
Dive into the Wave
I’m on the eastern shore of Kauai, and the waves are pounding. Big and scary. I venture out. If I stand facing them, they knock me back. If I stand sideways, I fare better just because spreading my legs perpendicular to them gives stability. If I don’t want to see or face the waves and stand with my back toward them, I fare the worst. They hit me without my knowing when they come, and they tumble me into the sand. Waves can be like the hardships, troubles, or bad surprises in life that scare us or destabilize us….
Our Higher Citizenship
For most of us reading this who live in the United States, we may sigh at the way so many things get so political. Seems a person can hardly say or do anything without someone else politicizing it and getting upset, or commenting on it. And we wonder, What have we come to? And where are we going? Our nation, or any nation, does not need more conservatives, and we certainly don’t need more liberals. Our nation needs more Kingdom of God People. Every nation does. Jesus’ entire life on earth is the best example of this. Yet at the…
Tragedy and Substance
People naturally try to find meaning in the outcome of tragic events. Because finding meaning eases the pain of the tragedy. Absence or loss of meaning makes the pain unbearable. So we naturally go through inner turmoil when tragedy strikes or when life is unjust. Sometimes God seems way too quiet when we call out to him. Sometimes he seems absent. What do you do when God seems not to hear? It may help to know that natural disasters often result from the earth’s natural functioning: Earthquakes are necessary adjustments in the shifting of tectonic plates. Hurricanes are necessary atmospheric…
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…
