Earnest: Yo, Jonah!
Jonah: Yo, Earnest! What brings you all the way back here to Nineveh?
E. Well, it’s kind of embarrassing…
J. Please don’t tell me this is for another whale pun!
E. What? No, nothing like that.
J. Whew. That’s a relief. I can handle anything except another whale pun.
E. Oh, great! I actually wanted to talk to you about bitterness and judgmentalism.
J. …
Continue readingWhen worldly woes make us feel blue
We must recall we’re “nearly new”
The reason I take up offense
Is really a form of defense
I don’t want to share
The cross you won’t bear
Suddenly, our conflict makes sense!
Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding is truly one of God’s greatest gifts to the 21st century church. At a time when many (perhaps most) Christians unthinkingly accept the brokenness of this world as “just the way things are”, He has both preached and practiced the vital truth that Christ came to give us victorious life.
He has led Bethel for decades with humility, integrity, and compassion — including a perhaps unprecedented openness to raising up and blessing other leaders. I wish more leaders were like him.
But to be honest, sometimes he drives me crazy.
Continue readingPerhaps my worst and most common trigger
(Amygdala hijack)
Is when someone says something
That implicitly assumes
That what I consider vitally true
Is obviously false
And I feel like I have to
Invalidate their statement
Or else they’ll have
Invalidated me
Continued from Part 7
I stand at the Twilight of the Gods, having given them the Blessing of Adam and released them from their millennia of service.
I had thought my Quest was simply to destroy my iron ring of Pride;
Which I once jealously guarded but had grown to despise.
But instead Zeus used his bare, bleeding hands to reforge the Ring into a Key.
But for what?
“How can I find the Lock that fits this Key?”
Continue reading[Our Christian high school just put on a “fearless” production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which continued to haunt me after leaving the theater. I identified deeply with many of the characters, whose seemingly minor flaws led to tragic results. I am writing this in hopes it will help me identify (and repent of) the deeper sin they shared — but could not name — which ultimately destroyed them all.]
Continue readingTickets available now! (For both 10am and 1pm on Thu Sept 2)
I often get frustrated when others don’t see what I do. This passage makes me wonder what others see that I do not:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Continue reading
There are many types of prayer, for many reasons and occasions. This is my current preferred practice for “prevailing” prayer — when I am not ready to take no for an answer.
Continue readingDedicated to my Father.
a) What in Ernie needs to change?
b) What in me needs to change?
[Shout out to blog reader Kate for pushing me to publish this early!]
As followers of Jesus, we invite you to learn along with us every Tuesday at 1 PM on The Great Reset as we practice loving more like Jesus.
Question: What should we focus on when something hurtful has happened?
Perspective: Answering the question, “What do each of us need so all of us can handle it better next time?”
Continue readingOnline Version https://forms.gle/xraVo3KsSSQ5npTV8
This worksheet is designed to help you achieve victory over the spiritual and psychological “curses” that prevent you from living the abundant life God intends for you. Specifically, it provides a structured format for us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:6). The idea of making petitions to a heavenly judge is inspired by the idea of literal heavenly courts as taught by Robert Henderson and others, but you can also use it metaphorically as an advanced Twelve Steps program for taking ground in other aspects of your life.
Continue readingRSVP stands for the four steps I have been using to help my spirit align with God’s purposes for my life:
Continued from Part I.
Man and Woman were walking by a range of hills. Suddenly, a gleam of light caught Woman’s eye. She glanced up, and saw a beautiful blue sparkle high up on the side of a cliff. “Oh my,” she said, “how lovely! I wonder what that is?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Man ran over and started climbing. Woman held her breath as his fingers and toes sought out tiny ledges to hold onto, and gasped once when he almost fell. But before she knew it, he had retrieved his prize and was kneeling before her, holding up a nearly transparent rock that glittered with all the colors of the sun.
That night by the fire, while she was admiring her gift, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “You were so brave, today. I bet you aren’t scared to do anything!”
Man stiffened. Without a word, he got up and walked away into the darkness.
Continue readingEnjoy, Love & Glorify
God, Ourselves & Others
As Jesus Does
God, Us & Others
Enjoying, Loving, & Glorifying,
God, Ourselves, Others & the World
Dear God,
Thank you for creating me in Your image, and for loving us like Jesus.
Make me more and more like Jesus as I listen to your Word, your Spirit, and your Body.
Heal the wounds in my spirit that keep me from loving You, myself and others as Jesus did.
Help me show Your love to the world by practicing the generosity and vulnerability Jesus showed on the cross.
Teach me to always rejoice in the privilege of being your child.
I ask this because of everything Jesus did for me. So be it!
O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
We praise You because You are a good God. In a world that seems filled with brokenness and evil, thank You for taking all that upon Yourself through the cross, so that we might be made whole.
Our hearts go out to the people of Charlottesville, and all those wounded physically and emotionally by the tragic violence of August 12th. We pray especially for the family and friends of Heather Heyer and the police who were killed, that they would experience Your peace and comfort.
“Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” – Matthew 26:13 (NLT)
April 1st, 2024 A.D.
By now, one-quarter of the way through the 21st century, almost everyone has heard of the San Francisco Revival. While skeptics question its longevity — and theologians its validity — there is no denying the impact it has had on the city and the region: the eradication of homelessness, conversion of red light districts into family neighborhoods, stadiums full of young people dedicated their lives to Jesus, legions of techies quitting their VC-backed startups to pursue social entrepreneurship, etc.
There has also been endless coverage both lauding and critiquing the organizations responsible for shepherding and publicizing the Revival: YWAM SF, TBC, and of course Harvest Evangelism. Regardless of how you feel about their methods, you have to admire those organizations for having the foresight and courage to invest in the region and move quickly to capitalize on this strange phenomenon, despite the enormous risks.
Yet there is another, deeper story that still hasn’t been told. Unlike the general public, scholars are well aware that the revival first started in the South Bay before spreading up the Peninsula to San Francisco and beyond. But even most of them are unaware of how it all began.
Allow me to explain.
Radically Happy 
You must be logged in to post a comment.