Category Archives: On Faith

Apologetics, Theology, and Exposition

Well, This is Awkward

Have you noticed that before Jesus fed the five thousand, he said to his disciples, “You give them something to eat”? They respond by asking if they should spend two hundred denarii to buy some bread for the multitude (Mark … Continue reading

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The Pentecost Paradigm Shift

For several weeks the fifth chapter of John has haunted me. This chapter tells of Jesus confronting the Pharisees after he healed the man by the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. Jesus enrages the Jewish leaders by saying, “My … Continue reading

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Unstuck by the Holy Spirit

Jesus is invisible, and that is a problem. Like many today, I like to identify as a follower of Jesus. I think salvation without discipleship takes us nowhere. I often urge those hurt and bewildered by crazy and carnal Christians … Continue reading

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Unstuck by Jesus

Here is a surprisingly religious way to get stuck in our walk with God: meditate on the transcendent divine attributes of God. God is infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. His ways are not our ways. Who are we to think … Continue reading

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Unstuck by God’s Goodness

In our home group, we are looking at biblical ways to get unstuck. Christians get stuck in different ways. Some get saved, slip through the doorway into the kingdom and then refuse to go or grow. Some walk with God … Continue reading

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Bilbo, Gandalf, the Holy Spirit, and My Green Door

Every couple years I re-read The Hobbit for the course on Tolkien I teach. This year, I once again am grateful that Tolkien made Bilbo fifty when he began his great adventure. We are more accustomed to the adventures of … Continue reading

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The Dangers of Servant-Leadership

I know I am slicing up a sacred cow here. Therefore, lets straight-up acknowledge that the best leaders are those with a heart of a servant. Even secular leadership models acknowledge this. The Bible clearly declares that those who are … Continue reading

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She Drank from Puddles

She wandered half-naked in the hills outside Redding, drinking from puddles and finding shelter in a burnt-out tree. She was discovered and rescued by a family looking for a Christmas tree. I first heard this story on the radio about … Continue reading

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The Greatest Showman, the Power of Story, and God’s Circus

Two intellectually challenged adults were in front of Teckla and I when we went to buy tickets for the movie The Greatest Showman. The young man looked like he had Down’s Syndrome. The young woman seemed to have some speech … Continue reading

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Common Grace: My Dad, Harry James, and All That Jazz

My dad loved jazz. Growing up, I never thought this strange even though in those righteous days Nazarenes didn’t smoke, drink, attend dances, or go to movies. It seemed there were more things we didn’t than did. Jazz, of course, … Continue reading

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