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 readingA fruitful individuality
Transforms both my self and community
I cannot just go with the flow
I must learn the power of “No!”
Yet contrary words won’t suffice
I must learn to judge myself twice
We all think we have a good reason
To judge whether God is in season
If this run of race
Is worthy of grace
Or needs to be called out as treason
[Part of a series that may never see the light of day, but this episode felt good enough to publish on its own.]
She is not an object of desire.
She is not even human.
Yet she is my next quest.
Continued from Part 6
I gaze over the gods of Olympus
Awaiting their judgement
From a Son of Adam
Which would be a glorious event
To behold
If only the person doing it
Was someone
Other than me!
Continued from Part 5.
I thought I was done.
Then I remember.
I still have my Burden.
My Pride.
I’ve been to hell and back
So many times
I have frequent fryer miles
But found no flames
To unmake that ring
There’s only
one move
left.
The place that most ignore
Few approach
Only a handful willingly enter
From which only One returned
[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
It is dangerous to judge others.
It is irresponsible not to.
In response to the recent storming of the US Capitol.
I hate it.
I hate You.
Look at You. “All powerful.” “All wise.” “All loving.”
Yeah, right. Have You seen this world?
Worse, have You seen those who dare to call themselves Your people? Your representatives? Your priests?
“And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.” — Matthew 23:9
Over the last few years God has been putting me through a graduate course in dealing with my father issues. I still haven’t graduated, but at least I know what my thesis is. 🙂
I never really wanted to be a leader. I just wanted to find a leader I could trust, who cared about the things I cared about, so I could define my mission as a sub-mission of theirs. Unfortunately, things never quite worked out that way.
This is not to denigrate the honorable men (no women, but that’s another story) I have served under in the context of work, ministry and family. I have been extraordinary privileged to have been by led and mentored by a succession of extraordinary men of deep integrity, from my own earthly father to Steve Jobs. People who were sincerely committed to the mission, practiced what they preached, and never abused their authority.
And yet…
For all their strengths, those leaders all their blind spots. Areas where their behavior didn’t align with the values they genuinely believed in and communicated. Attitudes they were oblivious to that clearly hurt both individuals and the organization’s ability to fulfill its mission. Continue reading
In Which God Reminds Us That All “Our” Money Is Ultimately “His” — And That’s A Good Thing!
Stewardship is closely related to the virtue of generosity we studied in the last module. While that lesson focused primarily on our attitude towards money, here we will focus more on our attitude towards God. True stewardship includes financial wisdom, but is also a general attitude toward all of our resources: e.g., time, energy, and attention.
In particular, we practice the discipline of simplicity in order to both reflect and reinforce our devotion to the Master of whom we are stewards. This prevents us from wasting our resources trying to prop up our own glory — which paradoxically is what allows God to glorify us in Him!
Memory Verse: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ” — Luke 12:34 (NKJV)
In Which Christ Comes Back to Judge and Remake the Earth, and We Receive Our Reward
The End. Christ’s Return is the completion of our theology. Faith will be made sight, all nations will bow before Him, and we will dwell in the fulness of the Father’s eternal presence as His kingdom comes at last. Our sin will be no more, for the Spirit’s work of salvation and sanctification is finished as His bride is conformed to His character.
Though not everyone will be happy about it…
In Which Jesus Sends the Comforter, and We Are Convicted By Him
This week we move from the Father and the Son to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. This also continues our theme of God restoring His Image by saving us from our rebellion. And as usual, there is a heavy price to be paid…
Radically Happy 