We've all heard it, the age old question: why does God allow evil and suffering in the world? Nothing makes this question more relevant than the present experience of pain. There is brokenness in this world, some call it sin—the point is that things are not as they should be. At least, that is the opinion of the Text, the Tanakh, the Bible, Holy Scripture. The Jews, similarly convinced of the brokenness of the world, gave us the idea of...
Today I want to share with you my vision. Often I blog about life lessons and realizations that fascinate me. Earlier today, however, I was listening to a sermon by Kris Valloton on dreaming. It hit me so deeply. So many of my worries in life have been related to my future, and so many times I have side-stepped the real issue by telling myself that I needed to stop worrying and start trusting God. This is true, to an extent. For me, the issue...
We can call God our Father because it is how Jesus taught us to pray. We also know that God is love. Therefore, the Father's heart is a heart of love. How beautiful it is to see the Father's heart lived out in the people around us. How encouraging to see this memorial in the middle of Sacramento:
I was scrolling through my twitter feed recently, and slowly found myself overwhelmed by all of the noise. So many people are talking constantly and sharing whatever 140 characters their mind deems most important at the time. Even though most of my feed is encouraging advice or uplifting, spiritual sentiments, everything people were saying felt like an overwhelming burden. I began to wonder: with all of the people speaking on twitter, is...
Have you ever been provoked to jealousy? When I first think of the word "jealousy" I think of something that needs to be quenched, done away with, or removed from me. It connotes a lack of harmony and inner turmoil. On the surface, it's something I just want to get past, but like any emotion—toxic or otherwise—it points to something deeper. For this reason, jealousy is a gift in the spiritual realm. There are heroes of the faith and...
Today, I reflect on passions. You know, the things in us that spark desire, the fuel of life. There is a misconception in many people's minds that passion is a non-essential. At the same time, there are many people who have stated much more eloquently than I am capable of that passion is completely essential to whatever you do. What is not clearly explained, however, is that passion does not look the same for everyone. The minute you begin to...
On one of my many pilgrimages from my apartment to the library, I came across this sight: This branch was dead. The first word that came to my mind was "withered." I think it reflected my current feelings of my spiritual life. I felt like I was withering. In the past, when I felt like I was withering, it was usually because of noise. People around me are always searching for some sort of external stimulation: television, music, talking,...
It all began with a fortune, you know, from a fortune cookie: These things are usually meant to be pretty generic, but it's always amusing (and sometimes I think God-ordained) when they line up with actual events about to happen in your life. In this case, I knew that what I had planned for my weekend was going to be different than normal. What was it you ask? This: I accompanied a poem reading on violin for an art expo at a local church. There...
Well, it's time to move out. Just finished my third year of college. Wow. It's time for summer once again, and once again I find myself dreading the uncertainty of where I'll find my next rent payment and food. I'm really trying to not rest in the security of my plans and instead rest in the provision of God, but with the limited experience I have in trusting God, the experiences I am going through right now are taking all of the faith I have....
Closeness with God can be a difficult, ever changing thing. It's never because He changes, but always because we change. Change. I hate it and love it at the same time. It's what happens as we renew our minds and bring our lives into alignment with the reality of our new natures in Christ. We are already seated in heavenly places with Christ, but we have to learn how that looks as we live on earth and it can be a difficult, painful process....
