Tag: god
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Reflect
As we near the end of the summer, I wondered at a certain word: Reflect. In particular the context of this question came from me challenging my staff from Psalm 90:12: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” It was a reminder to consider the great opportunities…
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“I Missed the Moment”
“I missed the moment.” Currently I’m listening to the book Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. I generally love the craziness that expresses itself through Russian writing, and especially how writers like Dostoevsky weave philosophy, spirituality, and creative thinking into their stories. The above quote comes from a passage where a demon (or the devil…book’s not very…
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Sometimes Backstage is the Darkest
Charles Spurgeon wrote in his Lectures to His Students an entire session on something he called the Minister’s “Fainting Fits.” It occupies the 11th lecture. I paused when I read that, thinking, “What does that mean?” While Spurgeon was partly referring to a lack of physical strength and weakness, in a greater fashion “fainting fits”…
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Pray for Rain
About a decade ago, there was an interesting phenomenon happening in Austin. We had been locked in a terrible drought and our local reservoirs were approaching and sometimes below 30%. There were widespread brushfires that afflicted Central Texas communities. Businesses near lake areas were shuttering. All in all, not a great time. The phenomenon that…
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Paper Pillars
I was thinking today on the nature of Institution. Our world is filled with them, from churches to governments to schools to friend groups. It is our nature to establish relationships and pathways that last, to make tracks on the world that others will follow. But in thinking about institutions today, I remembered the Spirit…
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Scars and Shorelines
What does revival look like in a believer’s life? At a recent youth camp, the idea was posed to us of “returning to the way things used to be” with regard to our faith. That statement made me pause…Is that a true goal? Should we desire to return to some previous form of faith and…
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Calling
I was thinking the other day on the nature of Calling. Ministry certainly leans heavily into the idea, but it’s not just there. I hear often of teachers or coaches or counselors or artists leaning into what they perceive is their Calling, and in fact thus we get the word for a career of vocation.…
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Groggy Worship
Recently I had the opportunity to attend a conference, and as part of that conference they opened with worship. While this was a noble way to get things started, it became quickly apparent to me that it was going to be dreamy and slow in style, which doesn’t jive well with me at 9:00 in…
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Imago
Pictured above is a self-portrait my daughter made. I love the art, because my girl was challenged to take those thoughts and emotions that she has about her own identity and create something. She imagined, and it became an image. Volumes have been written on what it means to be created in the Image of…
And yet, and yet... 