Meekness, Might, and the Strength We Keep Misunderstanding Two statements crossed my path recently. The first explained Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth,” by saying that the Greek word praus was a military term for a warhorse trained to charge into battle without panic. The meek, it said, are extremely dangerousContinue reading “God Does Not Need Our Swagger”
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Hanging In There
The God Who Notices Splinters We have been home from Alaska for one week. It has been a good week. Or perhaps I should say it has been a successful week. Those are not always exactly the same thing. Two prison messages have been delivered at the Chapel of Hope. The first was on theContinue reading “Hanging In There”
This morning I have been remembering.
Maybe that is one of the privileges of being eighty-eight. You can sit with a cup of coffee and suddenly discover that something you haven’t thought about in fifty years has wandered back into the room. This particular wandering started several days ago with a movie, Song Sung Blue, and a question: What did you wannaContinue reading “This morning I have been remembering.”
Yesterday afternoon, it started with music.
Tanya and I were home again after our Alaska trip, still trying to convince our bodies that Texas time is the time that matters. We were listening to classical guitar on YouTube. One song led to another. Later we watched Song Sung Blue, the story of two ordinary people with rather extraordinary dreams. They wanted toContinue reading “Yesterday afternoon, it started with music.”
The Theology of Rest
This morning I am home. Really home. Yesterday morning, sometime around 6:20, our plane touched down in Houston. Then came the shuttle to the car, followed by another two hours on the road to Lufkin. By the time Tanya and I walked through our own front door, Alaska seemed both very near and very farContinue reading “The Theology of Rest”
Comfortable Shoes
This morning I moved sprinklers. Not once, but several times. Our yard doesn’t have an automatic irrigation system anymore. When Tanya and I bought this place four years ago, the yard had been neglected. We hauled away truckloads of clutter, removed more tree stumps than I care to remember, cut down dead trees, and dugContinue reading “Comfortable Shoes”
THE CUP
He went a little farther. Not far enough to disappear from sight, perhaps, but far enough to be alone. The three disciples remained beneath the olive branches behind Him. They could see the outline of His body moving through the shadows. They may have heard the first broken words of His prayer. But they couldContinue reading “THE CUP”
LARGO TENEBROSO
The Descent The city lay behind them. The valley waited below. Only a few moments earlier the air had seemed almost transparent. The Father’s presence had filled every word of the prayer. Heaven itself had seemed near enough to touch. Then… they stepped away. There are places where the presence of God seems to restContinue reading “LARGO TENEBROSO”
Marker Stone
The Long-Awaited Step Some journeys begin with a single step. Others begin with a lifetime of waiting. There are books we choose to write. Then there are books that quietly choose us, waiting patiently until we have become the person capable of writing them. Crossing the Kidron Valley has been such a book for me. ItsContinue reading “Marker Stone”
THE KIDRON VALLEY REMEMBERS
The Valley Remembers Andante dolorosoTrans Torrentem Cedron Night had settled over Jerusalem. The city still breathed with the anticipation of Passover. Pilgrims filled its streets. Lamps flickered in narrow windows. Somewhere, families were gathering around tables where fathers would once again tell the ancient story. “When your son asks you…” Israel had been remembering forContinue reading “THE KIDRON VALLEY REMEMBERS”
Spiritual Wanderings 