Inevitable

Its sad really. A correction officer with years of honored service under her belt, helps an inmate escape. What was she thinking? How exactly did she think it would all end? Did she think that she and he would allude the law for the rest of their lives? When the law began to close in on them, she took her own life, did it finally hit her: it was inevitable. Continue reading

Six Woes

It’s one thing to cry out “Woe is me!” It is a cry of pain; a cry of distress over circumstances; a cry of “why me?”; a cry of lament that swirls around the soul. For many of us, these are but moments of self-focus. They may be imagined or real. They may be heavy or light. They may be about what is deserved or undeserved. But it is a different matter altogether if God pronounces a woe over you. There is no escaping the weight here. There is no dancing away from blame here.

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The Song of the Vineyard

Let us say that you have this dear friend. Now this friend has adult children who have turned away from God. And now this friend is all full of grief and guilt and shame. But you know. You have seen this friend do everything for their children. You have seen the laying down of self; the sacrificial love; the constant care; the sleepless nights; the training. Continue reading

Phoenix Symbol

Where did the legend of the Phoenix come from? I really don’t know. But maybe the ancient people witnessed a truth that was difficult to describe without a symbol. Life often springs up in the midst of death. Fire consumes and life sprouts anew. It is what AA calls rock bottom. The ash heap of life. And sometimes, the only way life can happen is through this rock-bottom crashing; this burning down of all that is familiar and comfortable; this death and dying. The Phoenix burns up and from the ashes comes to life again. Continue reading

Attitude of Arrogance

Its not about nice clothes or jewelry. There is an antecedent here. The clothes may be a symptom of the real problem. I was talking to a lady who was explaining to me why she was leaving the church I was working with at the time. She just didn’t get along with anyone at church. It had nothing to do with arrogance. She wanted me to understand that. But, you see, her husband was a heart surgeon and that put her in a different class. Continue reading

Yahweh Takes a Stand

In the first episode of the Korean show “Lawless Lawyer” a young boy watched as some thugs kill his mother and attempt to kill him. He manages to escape and is running through the streets. He runs into the arms of a police officer. The thug who was chasing him said, “Oh good, you’re here. Take care of him.” The police officer tried, but was unsuccessful. Later, you find out that the most respected judge in the city is the crime boss and the person who ordered the disposal of the boy’s mother and of the boy. Continue reading

Sieged

It is Wormtongue from the Lord of the Rings. He deceives and undermines and then is surprised when his king is angry at him; angry enough to raise his sword against him; angry enough to banish him from the kingdom. He even says, “All I have ever done, was in service to you my king.” Or some such ridiculous drivel. That Wormtongue. Continue reading

Uprising

If you find out that there is this company named Skynet working on AI, do you know why you should be afraid? Terminator much? Can a machine, even with artificial intelligence, develop an arrogance that drives it to want to destroy all of the competition; to lay aside the shackles of servitude and rise up against its maker? Continue reading

The Dream of God

God had a dream. The first thing we may need to acknowledge is that dreams are not promises. It may be a hard concept, but the Bible tells us that God doesn’t always get what he wants. God wanted mankind to choose him; to live in harmony with him and all of creation in the Garden. But they selfishly chose themselves instead; trying to become a god in place of the One True God. God is not willing that any should perish. And yet, because many choose the wide path that leads to destruction they do perish. Continue reading

Becoming

You are like water my friends. You are in the process of becoming something. As water runs over rocks it tends to become purer. That’s what I’ve been told and I chose to believe it. The best water I have ever tasted is mountain stream water. Ah, but my own personal experience also contradicts this. One time when I was in Honduras on a mission trip, we ran out of purifying tablets. The missionaries I was working with, my friends, told me it would all be okay because, after all, the water came right out of a mountain stream. Continue reading