One should rather die than be betrayed. There is no deceit in death. It delivers exactly what it promised. Betrayal, though — betrayal is the willful slaughter of hope. – Playright Steven Deitz Continue Reading
February 11, 2015
Lord of the Bruised
A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory. -Matthew 12:20 I want that kind of heart. I want to look at a bruised reed and feel protective, appreciating its fragility and its potential. Without that, everything else seems empty. These words from Isaiah 42, re-quoted in Matthew, are interesting, aren’t they? “A bruised reed He will not break.” Matthew cites this as a prophetic reference to Jesus, and it’s important to note this description comes right after a heated Continue Reading
January 20, 2015
‘American Sniper’ Lives Up to Its Buzz
Rolling Stone magazine said it takes a bite out of you, and that pretty well sums it up. American Sniper isn’t a film you’ll enjoy, but it’s one you can respect, even if you do leave the theater feeling maimed. The greatest overall compliment I’d give director Clint Eastwood is that he simply pulled the curtain back to show us a brave man on a brutal journey – no sermons from the left or the right; just a stark portrait which you can approve or condemn. Eastwood reports, you decide. Continue Reading
January 16, 2015
Dropping the S-Bomb
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” - Proverbs 27:6 37 years ago I was hugely backslidden. Since I’d been in full time ministry before my fall, quite a few people had known me and were, I’m sure, perplexed and angry at my rebellion. Some of them contacted me, in person or by mail, trying to reason with me and persuade me to turn back, and I cannot describe how weird and miserable that felt. Continue Reading
December 9, 2014
Turbo Tongue
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! (James 3:5) James had a healthy respect for speech, and its power to bless or destroy. Frankly, it’s power I’ve come to fear. Continue Reading
November 19, 2014
The Walking Wounded
“Without your wound where would your power be? The very angels themselves cannot persuade the wretched and blundering children on earth as can one human being broken on the wheels of living. In love’s service only the wounded soldiers can serve.” -Thornton Wilder Now I see why I always cry at the end of Our Town. Thornton Wilder had a grasp on language and the human soul which leaves me flabbergasted. And he’s bringing up something in this quote I’ve thought over for years, and have reluctantly come to believe: my best qualities spring Continue Reading
November 13, 2014
Releasing Your Wounder
We’ve all got them – wounds, past injuries of the soul that still show themselves, either in the way we relate, or the pain we feel. I've learned a lot by examining my own, and those of the people I've been blessed to work with over the years. Continue Reading
October 23, 2014
Your Dark Stinky Basement
Years ago I leased office space in a charming old historical building in our city. It was a three story affair with nooks and crannies everywhere, including a basement and, beneath the basement, a crawlspace for storage. Several different pastors, counselors and attorneys worked out of this building, all of us proud of its rustic charm. Until the day when we walked in and got a whiff of something nauseating. We couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but it permeated the place. We opened all the windows the air the rooms out, then searched Continue Reading
September 30, 2014
The Intimate Enemy
“Husbands, love your wives”, Paul admonishes in Colossians 3:19. Well, we’ve heard that before, but then he adds an interesting challenge: “—and be not bitter towards them.” Hmmm. As a former Pharisee, Paul had almost certainly been married at one time, then probably widowed. He knew something firsthand about men and women, and the dynamics that come between them, and from that knowledge sprang a command to men not to be bitter towards their wives – spoken, it seems, with the assumption that bitterness can be a common problem to husbands. Continue Reading
August 19, 2014
What the Wounded Wife Has to Say
If I knew falling in love would hurt this much I would have rather fallen into a ditch, and maybe I would be healed by now. -Evans Macharia When a man sexually betrays his wife, his ability to understand her pain is equal to his ability to understand what pregnancy and delivery feel like. Continue Reading
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