THE VIEW FROM UP HERE

power to choose

WHERE GOD’S POWER ENDS

I love the Gospel of Mark. It is one of the books of the Bible I have studied most in depth. It reads like an action movie script. Jesus bursts on the scene destroying the works of the devil and setting captives free! He preaches...

valentine lent ash wednesday

PUTTING THE LENT BACK IN VALENTINE

This year Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine's Day and Easter falls on April Fools Day. I actually think that is quite fitting. Easter is the ultimate April fools joke God played on Death and every relationship could probably use a day of repentance more than...

grief and grieving

HELPING FRIENDS IN GRIEF

I've had a lot of experience with grieving. More than I'd like. Each death has a different character. My mother lost a long battle with cancer and much of the heavy grieving happened before she died. My grandparents were old -- the kind of people...

marked up bible

My Dad’s Bible

My dad's Bible lived on the back of his toilet. His bathroom, more affectionately known as his office, was the place my brothers and I would come to ask our questions, appeal our cases against each other, or tell him about our latest ideas or...

finishing life well

Finishing Well

I have been thinking a lot this week about the end of life.  My father is finishing his race right now.  Sometime in the days to come he will breathe his last and pass from this life into the next. Alzheimers disease wreaked havoc on...

Galatians gospel

THE GOSPEL IS GOOD NEWS, NOT GOOD ADVICE!

The gospel is not a plan of salvation that you can follow.  It's not advice about how to please God or go to heaven. It is the good news of what God has already done for us through Jesus and will do in us by...

God Acts

GOD NEVER ACTS ALONE!

I dare you to find any evidence of God working autonomously. Creation? Nope. Aside from the fact that everything came through the Word and by the Spirit, God built partnership with his creation into the ongoing creation of everything from plants and animals to humans...

read bible

WILL YOU READ WITH ME?

I am inviting you to read through the New Testament with me at the beginning of this new year. It's not a "new year's resolution" or a lifetime commitment. I just want to read through the New Testament in a new way and I want...

Good news sharing

SHARING GOOD NEWS

Christmas is an opportunity for sharing the good news with people who wouldn't normally give Jesus a second thought.  This holiday brings him front and center.  Everyone is more open at Christmas. That makes our job easier than any other time of year!  Just saying...

like dad

HE LOOKS LIKE HIS DAD

Everyone has an opinion about who the newborn baby looks like.  My mom was classic at this.  "Oh, he has his mother's eyes, his dad's nose and his grandmother's chin."  "If you look upside down and squint your eyes, he looks exactly like Jason."  I...