No, this isn’t my next intrigue novel! This is a reference to one of Plato’s dialogs, where according to wikipedia Socrates asks, “Is the pious (τὸ ὅσιον) loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?” A more current monotheistic person would phrase the question […]
1 [This is] the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Go down at once to the potter’s house; there I will reveal My words to you.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, working away at the wheel. 4 But the jar that he was making […]
Given the title of this post, this is going to be a heavy topic (thank you Captain Obvious!), and we are going to get a bit theological. Apologies in advance again to those looking for a quicker read, I realize this post isn’t very ‘bloggy’. Here is the question I am trying to answer: does […]
I’m reading Paul Zahl’s “Grace in Practice”, and as I read it, instead of simply blogging about what I’m reading, I’m going to blog about my own thoughts on the issues he raises. I’m also going to skip around the book shamelessly at will as things interest me, no apologies! I also will have the […]
I’ve had a little time to reflect on some of the content from the Mockingbird Fall conference of 2011. Something was bugging me a little about a few of the conversations I had at the conference, and I realize what it is. A few people expressed the notion that this idea of avoiding scorekeeping was […]
I’ve been in Birmingham Alabama over the weekend attending Mockingbird Ministries “Grace, Rest, and the end of Scorekeeping” fall conference. I have to say, it was wonderful! It was great to be with so many likeminded people and to be challenged to go deeper in my understanding and practice of grace. I met some great […]
I’m at the Mockingbird Ministries Fall conference in Birmingham AL. I’m staying at the Advent house near the church where the conference is being held, and it sure is nice. I’m feeling very blessed indeed, they couldn’t have been more hospitable here. I’ve never been to Birmingham and it is a wonderful city. Here’s a […]
I’ve been looking at the story of Abraham and Isaac, and what it teaches us about spiritual surrender and release. Naturally I started to think about my son Jonathan and Batman. When my son Jonathan was younger, from about 18 months until he was around 10 years old, he was completely and absolutely obsessed with […]
More meditation on the faith of Abraham. Genesis 22 God, in His love and favor over Abraham, gave him this bizarre task, to offer his son as a burnt offering. This is on the surface one of the craziest and most difficult stories in all of scripture. How could a good and loving God ask […]
He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” From the first taste of forbidden fruit we have been imbued with firsthand knowledge of good […]