Random Reviews of Stuff

I’ve got a few random thoughts on stuff I’ve read and seen, so I thought I’d put them all together. Preaching on Christmas day at a homeless shelter. My pastor Lee Connors works at the Bellingham homeless shelter, and he invited us to minister there on Christmas night. What do you say to 100 homeless […]

The Risk and the Daring

May the risk and the daring the scandal and the holiness the surprise and the destiny the power and the weakness the poverty and the richness the humility and the honor of Jesus’ miraculous birth be birthed miraculously in you in your hopes and fears failures and success friendships and solitude work and rest now […]

One Thing

I woke up dreaming about this, so I’m going to write it up. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as […]

A Cosmic Christmas

It’s Christmas, and my thoughts always turn to the cosmic. Why? 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. […]

The Effortlessness of Death

When we try to add some kind of personal moral effort back into our life as a Christian, it is like asking Joseph Stalin to come back to life to reform Russia. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness […]

Puppy Love and the Empowerment for Behavioral Righteousness

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:10 What does it mean to consider yourself dead to sin? It means, to reckon it as true, to think of yourself that way. But what is death to sin? First, let’s consider that we are under grace, […]

Movie Reflection: In Time

http://www.youtube.com/embed/ra2zF7n-28w This movie is meant to be a tale of the stark reality of the haves and the have-nots. However, I found it to be a fantastic parable for law and grace. There are going to be some spoilers here, but the movie has been out a while and you should have had some opportunity […]

The Euthyphro Dilemma

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 […]

The Potter’s Hand

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 […]

Grace, Death, Predestination, and Autonomy

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 […]