I was reading through my daily ‘Through the Bible in a Year Plan’ and this Scripture was like an anchor, not letting me surface. I had that nagging sense of déjà vu, a mild sense of uneasiness. I knew this, didn’t I? I did. All of a sudden I felt like David when the Lord confronted him through Nathan the prophet. “You are the man!” I was Nebuchadnezzar, or had been at least.
The Scenario: A Story
Getting ready for the day, your mind is busy on thoughts of the numerous things that need to be done. Rushing to get through the morning tasks, there lies your Bible on the table with the sheet of paper for numerous prayer requests, undisturbed for a few frantic days now. That can be done later is your reasoning. The Lord is certainly sympathetic.
Finding Plymouth Rock: A Theology of Flight
Landing of the Pilgrims', (1877). From "Our Country: a Household History for All Readers, from the Discovery of America to the Present Time", Volume 1, by Benson J. Lossing. [Johnson & Miles, New York, 1877]. Artist Albert Bobbett. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images) We all know the story. In 1620, 102 English Puritans boarded…
Paid by the Convert: Revivalism in America
Today I'm linking an enlightening video on revivalism in the United States and why American churches today incorporate practices such as altar calls, mindless repetition in music, spontaneous baptisms, speaking in tongues, and other forms of emotionalism in worship. Of particular interest is the fact that some preachers during this revival period worked on commission,…
Christian Takeaways From Oprah’s Royal Interview
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve heard about the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle interview that aired earlier this week. Both here in the States and across the pond, people sat glued to their screens as Meghan and Harry leveled accusation after accusation against the royal family and the institution of the…
Age Segregation is the Death of the Church
It’s not uncommon for us in the United States to have arguments about generational differences. Baby Boomers are stubborn and selfish, the Gen X crowd is cynical and rebellious, and Millennials are whiny and entitled. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in the generational blame game. It’s no wonder we fixate on our differences…
Lessons from the Pediatric ICU
On December 15th, we had an accident. My husband tripped over the gate we use to keep our dogs from coming up the stairs. He was holding our nearly three-month-old daughter. She fell, swaddled, from his height--he’s not a short man--and landed on the side of her head/face at the top of the stairs. I…
There Are No Such Things as Giants
Two things happen simultaneously when a well-known Christian dies. First, Christians wonder what will happen to his or her ministry, who will fill such big shoes, "what will we do without so and so?" Second, the naysayers begin dredging up every negative fact and scandal to smear his/her name while the deceased teacher's followers go…
The Chief End of Man
The current pandemic has seen more than just the loss of life and livelihood. For many people it feels like the loss of identity and purpose too. Who are we if we aren’t actively involved in this, that or the other? What purpose do we serve if we no longer have a job? Of what…
How Well Do You Understand the Trinity (Quiz)?
I don't think it's unfair to say that many Christians have significant gaps in their understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity. Chalk it up to a slew of bad analogies: the three parts of an egg, the three forms of water, the three-leaf clover. While these examples seek to clarify God's nature, they do…
Bone of Bones 