Expecting God to Change

God does not change, His laws do not change, and nothing He has taught us through His Son will ever change. If change is to happen, it must be within us. Jesus calls us to be reborn; to let go of our old self-driven life, and take on a new life driven solely by love [...]

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Whom do You Choose to Obey?

Given a choice, whom will you obey, men or God? The Presbyterian Church appears to give more authority to men, than God. At least according to what is quoted in the April 26th newspaper article in the Santa Rosa (CA) Press Democrat. An attorney for the church, in referring to the behavior of pastor Jane [...]

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Dangerous Thinking

Just because I have never actually told my children to not torture someone, doesn’t mean I’m for torture. I expect my children to think for themselves and take everything else I’ve taught them and apply it to all aspects of their life, whether or not I’ve given strict instructions about particular issues they may face. [...]

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In Whom do You Trust?

In our lives we have choices about what or whom we want to trust. Many of us place our trust in Jesus and God. In addition, we place some of our trust in other things, such as money, other people, ourselves, civic leaders, laws that protect us, or maybe even traditions that help us feel [...]

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Time to Look in the Mirror

I’m going to take a short break from the series I’ve been posting, to look in the mirror. What kind of image of Jesus Christ do I reflect to my friends, family and co-workers? They all know I’m Christian, so I suspect the non-believers in my circle of acquaintances may perceive Christianity as being what [...]

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A Church Divided

“The Presbyterian Church has been sharply divided over homosexuality, including the question of gay marriages, for more than 30 years.” My series on the controversy around same-sex marriages continues with this quote from the April 26 edition of the Santa Rosa (CA) Press Democrat newspaper. As you may know by now, I am presenting a [...]

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Eternally Condemned – Preaching a False Gospel

It’s amazing, the abundance of church leaders who seemingly ignore biblical warnings, when they are supposedly the people who know the most about the bible. I guess knowledge and wisdom don’t necessarily go together.
Today I present to you Part 2 of the 7-part series where I focus attention on the confusion around the issue of [...]

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What About God’s Opinion?

Far too often, I encounter examples of people placing their opinions, principles and beliefs above those of God. In fact, we all are prone to placing ourselves above God, simply by ignoring His direction for our lives and following our own desires, as if we know better than He does about what’s best for our [...]

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Jamie’s Lessons in Humility and Love

As I came out of the restaurant, he was walking by. It wasn’t at first obvious to me that he was homeless, though he pulled on a small cart carrying all his belongings – I can be dense sometimes. He paused and said something about how tough life is. I now feel [...]

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The Truth of the Holy Spirit

What do you believe about the Holy Spirit of God? Who do you say He is? What would you say is His role in your life? In a recent small group bible study I attend, in talking about the Holy Spirit, one member mentioned that the Holy Spirit really wasn’t present during Old Testament times. [...]

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Your Faith Will Set You Free

The strength of faith can be very inspiring, as in some who are still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. In a May 3rd article in my local newspaper, written by Becky Bohrer of the Associated Press, a story is told of the financial difficulties of many churches in the New Orleans area.
Basically, because [...]

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Are You Good Enough for Communion?

“New York Cardinal Edward Egan says Rudy Giuliani should not have received Holy Communion during the pope’s visit because he supports abortion rights.” So said the three paragraph blurb in the national section of my local newspaper. Apparently the cardinal and Giuliani had “an understanding”, that Giuliani was no longer to receive communion because of [...]

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God Comes Close… Always

At a memorial service a couple of weeks ago, the presiding pastor, in an effort to comfort the mourners, said that God comes closest when we are down. I suspect he may have been reaching out to those in the crowd who are not Christian, who do not have God to lean on in good [...]

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Divided We Fall: Episcopal Meltdown

The goings-on in the Episcopal Church are more an example of dysfunction than Christian unity. A recent Associated Press article describes the legal turmoil between the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, and “a deposed bishop who led a secession last year prompted by the church’s ordination of women and gays.” It seems the diocese wants [...]

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New Orleans Freak Show?

Today, on our regular Saturday morning phone call, my mom told me a story about some friends of hers who recently took a trip to New Orleans. While there, they looked into taking a tour of one of the more hurricane-devastated areas. At the tour office they witnessed a bus returning from such a tour, [...]

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Do not call anyone on earth “father”

In a recent article in the Washington Post, about the Pope and his visit to the US, several statements caught my attention, but there is one in particular that I would like to focus on today.
The author, a Presbyterian Pastor, refers to the Pope as “Holy Father”. No big deal; a common title for the [...]

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How Would Jesus Pray?

Being on the prayer chain at the church I attend, when someone in the church requests prayer, their request will somehow find its way to me and many others, typically via email. The other day I received an email prayer request asking for prayers for a young woman who was very ill. We were requested [...]

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