Discipleship – learning from Jesus
“Look for Jesus!” a post-Easter Message for post-Easter people!
When life gets rough, look for Jesus! Continue reading
Morning Prayer for Night People
I have to admit it. For years, people have talked to me about the importance of morning prayer, of starting out each day by dedicating it – and myself – to God. I have tried a bunch of times to do it too. But I find it hard. Here’s the deal. I’m not a morning … Continue reading
In memoriam: Edith Whitney, 102 years of life and faith
My grandmother died almost two weeks ago now at 102, and I now have the bittersweet task of officiating at her memorial service. My grandmother didn’t have an easy life. As a polio survivor, her reaction time was slow and her sense of balance was unreliable. She lived with a lot of pain at various … Continue reading
Pain and Pastors
The word pastor comes from our job as shepherds. Of course, Jesus is the real shepherd, but we pastors try our best to represent him well as we seek to care for his flock. Jesus taught us that he’s the kind of shepherd who cares if a single sheep goes astray and wanders into danger, … Continue reading
Crossing the Stormy Lake
During my vacation this year, I had the good fortune of being able to spend a week at my grandmother’s cabin at Donner Lake. And this year, my aunt had left a kayak for us to use. The previous night I had tried it out and taken my sons on a short loop in the … Continue reading
The Mars lander has landed!
We’ve landed on Mars! Check out news from the Phoenix Mars lander.
Agree with God and be at peace
I was just reading Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening devotional for this evening, and it referred to Job 22:21. In the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version), it says, “Agree with God, and be at peace; in this way good will come to you.” In the NIV (New International Version), it says, “Submit to God and be … Continue reading
An exercise in God’s love for YOU
First a word of introduction. I had the great pleasure of attending the Bayside Church (of Granite Bay, CA) THRIVE 2008 conference. It’s nice that such a huge and wealthy church – that could easily hold a world-class conference just for its own leaders – invites leaders from other churches to come and learn and share fellowship … Continue reading
Don’t just do what you’re told!
About a year ago, I was at a ministry conference and someone I had been talking to the day before came up to me and said, “I have a message for you, Steve!” “Uh, OK…” I replied. “The message is that you’re ministry is on hold until you can stop caring what people think.” Now, … Continue reading
Enough or Too Much?
Johnny had a birthday party for some of his little friends last Saturday. We always struggle with the gift issue. Eleanor wants to have a “no gifts” party, and I imagine what that would feel like for the kids. They bring presents to all of their friends’ parties. Is it fair for them not to … Continue reading
God in the Mess
Last Sunday, many things went wrong in worship at Trinity. Now we’re not one of those churches were everything is polished and perfect, but even we are not accustomed to the sheer number of small things that went wrong, from people being out sick to sound system glitches to bulletin information being wrong. And you … Continue reading
Who’s my boss?
Eleanor and I were having a conversation over lunch and the topic of the church came up. I said something about the church not being my church. Well my son Johnny said, “It is your church, daddy,” “No Johnny,” I replied, “It’s Jesus’ church. And he’s my boss.” Without skipping a beat, Johnny responded, “He’s … Continue reading
Botox poisons the brain?
You’ve heard about Botox – the toxin (poison!) that people use to minimize the appearance of wrinkles – to look younger. Well, there’s a new twist. A recent study in rats shows that the toxin that people inject into their foreheads may travel to the brain, damaging the brain stem! There have also been human … Continue reading
Dr. King’s legacy – The work continues
Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. I think everyone in this country owes him a debt of gratitude for raising the consciousness of a nation that has always prided itself on being the land of the free. Well, it’s not over. Since I’m a white man, people … Continue reading
It’s not your battle – Stand still!
Jim Edwards, one of the speakers at the West Coast Presbyterian Pastors’ Conference this week, spent some time this morning talking about various virtues and about how we can make a decision to act in ways that we might not feel yet. An example for me might be to help clean up the kitchen even … Continue reading
“I Am With You”
At our conference today, Jim Edwards has been speaking on a list of Greek words he’s selected from the New Testament in its original language. One of them is a word “proserchomai” (since I don’t have a Greek font), which is the word for people approaching God. He notes that Matthew’s gospel uses this word … Continue reading
Getting Real
I’m sitting here in a huge group of Presbyterian Church pastors, and I’m struck by how real these people are! If you’ve heard me preach or have come to my Bible studies, you know that being real is a biggie for me. I think that one of the biggest problems that the Christian Church faces … Continue reading
Come to Jesus
“Come to Jesus” are powerful words. But often they’re powerfully negative. Do you know the expression “come to Jesus meeting”? When someone is way off track and needs to be straightened out, a supervisor or colleague will often say that they need to have a “come to Jesus meeting.” Presumably the idea is that the … Continue reading
Isaiah 41:10 – “I am with you.”
This one speaks for itself. Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
God wants to break through
I just had a couple of weeks of vacation. Some of it was spent working on our house, but some of it was spent at my grandma’s cabin on Donner Lake. At four-and-a-half years old, my son Johnny has reached the stage in his development where he works furiously to create indestructible sandcastles. he had a … Continue reading