Prayer without action is simply infatuation- You might think you are, but are you really in love? What happens during our times of prayer is important, but not as important as what comes after. An argument can be made, that if our prayer station isn’t moving us toward the lost, into acts of service, or…
Tag: Prayer
A Silent Ancient Thing
This year I self-published a book of poems titled, “When God Weeps Blood.” During a difficult stretch a few years ago, God led me to write poetry as a way to process with the Lord part of the suffering. The lessons he revealed in those dark hours emerged as gift–a deeper more enduring love for…
“…the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
The lantern of Love shines a brilliance Untested, unknown, unraveling and clear, Shines before the children of God To show that darkness never owns them. There will be seasons when light is dim There will be times of suffering There will be moments of doubt and fear There will be angels, dark and dangerous. Yet,…
The Violin-A Christmas Story
Place: New York City. A final Bible study before Christmas break. A group of young men who seem to really be tracking and growing, consistent…some of them straight off the streets, clawing their way up and out of some heavy stuff. Yet, Ace is missing, in fact for two weeks straight. The next day I…
Why?
Don’t be afraid to enter the ‘why?’ The great why question began with Jesus, when from the cross he asked God, “My God, my God, WHY have you forsaken me?” These why questions are too lofty to understand, and so we must sit and wait and contemplate, to see how the Lord will answer them. …
A Beggar, and the beauty of Advent
I was standing in line for coffee, when to my left appeared a homeless man. His stench overwhelmed a normally aromatic space. People fidgeted, and he went straight to the counter, leaned in and spoke with the manager. I overheard him ask for a cup of coffee. The manager shook her head, and the beggar…
A Prayer For Those With Cancer
Abba, Tear Catcher and Boo-Boo-Made-Better- can we talk? Your friend is sick. An anomaly was found in the glare of an ex-ray image. That signals only one thing, you are about to move through time, not into it, but through it, as eternity cannot cohabitate with minutes and hours. In that movement, please carry their…
Hard-Wired for Joy
God has hard-wired us for joy. This fruit of God’s Spirit sits ready to surprise and even overwhelm us, and is a sure sign of God’s presence. If we work at plumbing deeper depths of intimacy with God. If we fuel that ambition with love, with our hearts open to another shore. If we boldly…
What’s In Your Tank?
The movie Chariots of Fire was not primarily about Eric Liddell, the winsome missionary/sprinter who ran “to feel the pleasure of God.” Rather, it was about the other guy, a Jewish man, Harold Abrahams, fighting to sit on equal terms with the most noble among men. For Eric, love drove him to the finish line…
The Hands of God
*In Rembrandt’s painting of the prodigal son, he uses light to draw our eyes upon the hands of the old man who has placed them on the back of his youngest son. The prodigal has returned, and is kneeling in broken apology, waiting for punishment for an unspeakable crime. The younger son’s request for his…
The Weight of God’s Affection
I recently discovered a unique journal packed away in a box during our move to Austin. I had created it during a season I can only describe as a very dark night. On a sketch pad I had written words, then colored them in, creating a poster each night I spent with the Lord. One…
On Leaving and Coming Home
The Gospel invites us to walk out the will of God. We can do that because of Jesus’ obedience to the Father’s will, to be the perfect Lamb Sacrifice. His obedience categorically crushed our disobedience. Not that we won’t on occasion slip, stub a toe, stumble, or fall, as we try to stay in step….
To Sir, with love 