Relax
This morning as I was thinking through my day, I felt anxiety tighten my chest and creep into my shoulders. I felt the inward clamoring of stuff: an email needing to be answered right away, the writing deadline in front of me that needed inspiration, the upcoming events that require preplanning.
Crossroad
“Who thought this was a good idea?” cried my heart to my mind. How is it that we invest the whole of our lives into kids only to launch them into their own place in this world apart from us? What was, won’t be again. The season, the era, definitively over…And my heart aches. Sentimentality and nostalgia over years of joys, hardships, wins and losses form a warm image of “good.”
Something Worth Celebrating
Puritan Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680), hailed as “the greatest pulpit exegete of Paul that ever lived,” wrote a striking book entitled, The Heart of Christ in Heaven Toward Sinners on Earth. It’s quite a fascinating and soul-stirring read. It doesn’t take long to get his point: Christ has compassion for both our afflictions and our sin (Hebrews 4:14-16). It’s precisely because we have a High Priest who sympathizes with us that we can approach the throne boldly (no fear or shame).
Miracle Maker
The vestiges of “plate-spinning” spirituality reside deep within me—and though not even knowing you, I suspect it resides deep within you, too. Whether we like to admit it or not, I suspect we all are what I call, “card-carrying legalists.” We try hard to live up to an assumed standard our culture thinks defines a true Christian. Problem is, which culture is correct?
More or Less?
Christian hedonism, according to John Piper, believes that the best way to kill sin is by the power of a greater pleasure. In other words, Christian’s do not sin because they have to, they sin because it is more enjoyable or less painful than the way of the cross. So, bondage to any sin is broken by a more intense attraction or captivating joy. It’s an interesting take on our battle with sin.
What We Really Want
I was always fascinated with jugglers spinning plates. It seemed to require both finesse and speed to keep the plates from crashing to the floor. Unfortunately, in my formative years, that was my image of the Christian life. When remarking on the challenges of trying to keep all the plates spinning (Bible reading, Christian service, prayer, attending three services a week, exhibiting all the fruit of the Spirit, etc.) no one corrected me. Keeping everything in the air was an expected practice that haunted me up through Bible college and into my first ministry.
