and it wasn’t even a “Christian” concert.
A few years ago, I led worship on a retreat for a room full of seminary wives and students. Even though we were from all over the world, we had Jesus in common. We also had a need for rest and refreshment. My Northern Irish friend shipped her mom across the pond as our keynote speaker. [...]
addiction to ministry [part one]
![addiction to ministry [part one]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/soldier-in-quicksand-150x150.jpg)
What is wrong with me? I came to church with stress hanging on me like an oversized jacket. My heart had focused on people instead of God’s provisions. Ministry failed to excite me. And then it hit me… Like quick sand, the more I struggled the faster the mire sucked me under. Soon, I didn’t [...]
because He came, we have life [@bibledude advent series]
![because He came, we have life [@bibledude advent series]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/haitian-girl-smiling-150x150.jpg)
READ 1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. [...]
where?
I should probably confess that prayer is one of the most difficult of all the means of connecting with God. In fact, right now I prefer to sit in silence than squeeze out a prayer. Wait. Maybe those are one and the same. Maybe. I wrote this in my journal recently: …the truth is that [...]
even for the little things
I am lying on my stomach on an operating table, waiting for a doctor to administer the third cortisone shot to my back. It’s one of those bulging disc / pinched nerve things. And I ask myself if I should be praying. I know what to expect: first the local anesthetic (slight pinch); then 10 [...]
does God change his mind?
Do our prayers change God’s mind on outcomes? There are many who believe that prayer can change God’s mind and usually cite Exodus 32:7-14 and Isaiah 38:1-6. But how can an omniscient and immutable [1] God change his mind? In Exodus 32:7-14, God is ready to consume Israel and fulfill his promise through Moses. However, after [...]
prayer, pride, and trust: the hand-off
This morning, I prayed while showering. I pray in the shower every morning—have for years—because I’m never interrupted there. It’s ten minutes of hot water and chatting with my King. This morning, however, I listened to myself and I heard pure pridefulness pouring out. “God, please heal my friend’s broken heart.” “Father, please conquer my [...]
i walked away
I said my final goodbyes and began to walk out the door. As I walked through the double glass doors, tears rolled down my face. I wanted to collapse on the cement and never leave. But I pushed forward, vowing to never look back. To move on to the new life I was beginning and [...]
the street
I lay in my bed and see the people on the street. My imagination goes wild. What might it be like to be one living on the street? To have no cool place to lay my head at night. No shelter from the storms that come. To have no privacy, no real space to call [...]
simply grace
One morning a son placed a note on the kitchen counter. It read: “Mom owes Billy 25 cents for taking out the garbage, 10 cents for cleaning off the table, and 50 cents for being good.” At lunch the mother placed a note on her son’s plate that read: “Billy owes Mother nothing for making [...]
book review: bittersweet [thoughts on change, grace, and learning the hard way]
![book review: bittersweet [thoughts on change, grace, and learning the hard way]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/bittersweet_cover-150x150.jpg)
There’s a theme that’s been running through my life over the last seven months or so. Books I read, music I hear, conversations I have … they all keep coming back to one thing: storytelling. I was first introduced to this book sometime back in September by a friend of a friend. Like so many [...]
philippians 4:1-9 [exhortation, encouragement, and prayer]
![philippians 4:1-9 [exhortation, encouragement, and prayer]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/praise-and-worship-150x150.jpg)
Read Philippians 4:1-9 (ESV, NIV, The Message) Philippians 4:1-9 is all about reconciliation. I’ve read this passage dozens of times; I’ve listened to sermons about it—and today I undertake to unpack it with you. It’s a privilege to offer my understandings, though the very contents of the passage compel me to caution you that my comprehension of [...]
philippians 1:1-11 [greeting, thanksgiving, and prayer]
![philippians 1:1-11 [greeting, thanksgiving, and prayer]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/father-and-son1-100x100.jpg)
Read Philippians 1:1-11 (ESV, NIV, The Message) In these first eleven verses, Paul establishes a tone and message that will continue throughout this letter. He speaks with love of hope, grace, joy, and peace–words that will continue to echo. He also states his opening wish for the church of Philippi: that they would be able [...]
technology: a microcosom [and mini review of echoprayer.com]
![technology: a microcosom [and mini review of echoprayer.com]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/txt-100x100.jpg)
mi·cro·cosm /ˈmaɪkrəˌkɒzəm/ [mahy-kruh-koz-uhm] –noun 1. a little world; a world in miniature ( opposed to macrocosm). 2. anything that is regarded as a world in miniature. 3. human beings, humanity, society, or the like, viewed as an epitome or miniature of the world or universe. Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/microcosm It was AT&T who spread the ad campaign, “Your [...]
technology: a cancer in the universe?
“I agree Technology is per se, neutral: but a race devoted to the increase of its own power by technology with complete indifference to ethics does seem to me a cancer in the Universe. Certainly if he goes on his present course much further man can not be trusted with knowledge.” – C. S. Lewis, [...]
persistent, forceful, suffering prayer
The relationship between prayer and the mission of the church is essential, fundamental, and priority. Prayer essentially is a rejection of Satan’s strongholds, an affirmation, and a call to God to be directly involved in the world. Prayer is a rebellion against the world views of domination (Wells, 1979, 161). Persistent prayer is an affirmation [...]
[god in the yard] open: prayer
![[god in the yard] open: prayer](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/the-couple-100x100.jpg)
He walks through the kitchen, pauses behind me as I reach into the pantry. Catches me as I turn back around: “So, what are you doing right now?” I giggle all flustered, murmur something about a million little things, and dodge. Later I am the one passing through the living room, pausing to enjoy a [...]
paper or plastic? [the grocery store ministry]
![paper or plastic? [the grocery store ministry]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/grocery-store-100x100.jpg)
My husband Rich and I exchanged apprehensive glances as we stood in line at the grocery store checkstand. Behind us, a man flung his order onto the conveyer belt: two rotisserie chickens, a basket of strawberries, a loaf of French bread, a large bottle of cheap wine. His brows met in a deep furrow above [...]
god in the yard [group blogging project]
![god in the yard [group blogging project]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/god-in-the-yard-100x100.jpg)
Some books are just done best in community. And I believe L.L. Barkat’s God in the Yard: Spiritual practice for the rest of us is one of those books. It’s practically a handbook for personal communion with God, and it calls for a response from the reader. That’s why we thought it would be a [...]
jesus and my hot pink gloves
I sit in the confines of my car, hearing nothing but the muffled sound of cars whizzing by on the highway and the faint cheers of parents. The ball park lights flicker in the dimming sky. It’s getting chilly. I start the car and turn the heater all the way up to the bake-your-husband setting [...]
moving on [thoughts on jesus's last days]
![moving on [thoughts on jesus's last days]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/last-supper-100x100.jpg)
Today is Maundy Thursday. We begin what many consider to be the most holy days of any year. We remember, solemnly, Jesus’s final days on Earth. As I have been reflecting on Jesus’s last days on earth, I can’t help but think about what it must have been like. How did he know his work [...]
i’m gonna be sick
I’m starting to feel sick. I’ve only started this post once or twice already, praying and hoping that some gamma ray of inspiration will zap my fingers into tap-tap-tapping their way across the screen of this iPhone. I don’t normally write on my phone, but I’m on my way to town because the software I [...]
how to pray for your community
This experience in Santo Domingo was totally unexpected. Our team was down there to see how local churches all across the country are transforming their communities, but this one wasn’t on our agenda. It was our last day in the Dominican Republic, and we had already finished all of our meetings. We were making a [...]
[epistle of james] chapter 5
Read James 5 (NASB, ESV, MSG) I’m watching a line form in the foyer. My belly is swollen 8 months large over our third child. It’s the annual church camping trip sign-ups. The line is getting long as I watch the early birds select their campsites. If you invite a friend, someone who doesn’t go to [...]
May 06, 2011 | Categories: authentic christianity, bible literacy, the latest | Tags: bible commentary, confession, distractions, epistle, hope, james, james 5:1-3, james 5:9, new testament, patience, prayer, truth, wealth | 3 Comments »