Tag: God
Why We Fight
We don’t think of our daily life as a battle, but it is. The Bible clearly teaches that there is a spiritual warfare for all of the souls of humanity. You can’t get much clearer than Ephesians 6:10-13: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. → Read more...
Planning Our Time Now For Eternity
Everybody knows what it feels like to not have time for everything they want to do. There are so many books to read, movies to watch, places to explore, music to listen to, games to play, food to discover, not to mention all the things you need to get done at work and at home. Time feels like an enemy, always parceling out JUST enough minutes in the day or days in the week to get some things done, but not all of it. → Read more...
The Patient Potter and the Impatient Clay
I cracked open my Bible last night to Jeremiah 18. In this chapter, the prophet Jeremiah is sent by God to visit a potter’s house because God wanted to give him a message there. Jeremiah writes: “So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. → Read more...
In Medias Res
Frequent readers of this eLetter will know that I love movies and serial television shows, especially ones that attempt to tell a grand story over a period of time. Some of them employ a literary technique called in medias res, which is Latin for “into the midst of affairs.” This refers to where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of its beginning. The characters, setting, and conflict are often introduced through a series of flashbacks or through characters relating past events to each other. → Read more...
Float Like a Butterfly
We “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). This bible verse has burrowed its way inside my heart this week. This week, with the help of the Spirit, I’ve quietly taken stock on the ways I’ve fallen short and, boy, some days are better than others, but on all days, there’s always something. Sometimes it’s something small. Sometimes it’s something large. But my response is always the same: “Man, I wish I hadn’t done that.” → Read more...
Spiritual Warfare is A Very Real Thing
On Sunday, May 25, 2008 between 5:30 and 6:15 p.m., a tornado about a mile wide with 205 mile per hour winds roared through Parkersburg, Iowa, a small town of less than 2,000 people. The tornado killed nine people, demolished 288 homes and wiped out one-third of the town. One of the structures that the tornado severely damaged was the Aplington-Parkersburg high school and its football field that the town affectionately knew as “The Sacred Acre.” → Read more...
America, A Country I Love
Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, 56 men signed a piece of paper that came to be called the Declaration of Independence. Through this act, thirteen colonies broke away from the British rule that they were under and formed their own nation. Out of this singular act arose a country that rapidly became a superpower in only two hundred years, an accomplishment that the world had never seen before. It’s a staggering rise in power, an astonishing one that Dr. → Read more...
Enjoying Creation
It’s been hot for the past few days. The humidity makes it feel like we’re all swimming in hot water every time we walk outside. At times like this, it’s easy to stay inside and crank up the air conditioning and watch TV or something of the sort. I did not do much of that when I went to Kentucky this past weekend for a family reunion. All of the days I was there, the temperatures were hot, with the heat index hovering around over 100 degrees. → Read more...
A Leap of Faith
One of my favorite scenes in all of the cinema I’ve seen in my life is in 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In it, Indy, played by Harrison Ford, is on the quest for the Holy Grail. In order to get to the room that houses the grail, Indy has to pass three separate tests. The first two he passes just fine, but on the third, he pauses. The third test is called “The Leap of Faith” where he has to cross a chasm that has no apparent bridge. → Read more...
Reaching Out to God, Sort of
February 18, 2010
Calvary
Comments Off on Reaching Out to God, Sort of
Matt
Nine years ago, I had the fantastic opportunity to go to Italy when I attended Trinity Christian College. It was a trip that’s never really left me, staying close to my heart. We started our journey in Milan and worked our way south to Rome through cities like Venice, Florence and Naples. We walked through and touched walls of buildings that were hundreds of years older than America. If there was ever a time that I wished that walls could talk, it was then! → Read more...
diefingerGodgratitudeItalyJohnloveMichelangeloreachRomansSistine ChapelThe Creation of Adam