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...
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...
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....
I stand at my window with dread welling up in me. It's a mild, sunny day, yet I can't help but feel the weight of my opposition. I've heard it said that when you taste defeat, Almighty God weeps with you. I've heard it said that God restores the years that the locusts have eaten; He brings beauty out of ashes. I've heard it said that what the devil means for harm, God uses for good. I have heard it said that there are powerful lessons to be...
I would venture to say that most people in America have lost a proper concept of holiness because everything in life has become the same. There is nothing set apart, but we constantly seek out gratification of some sort. We are surrounded by music and talking and all sorts of things that in the end are tantamount to pure noise. None of these things may be individually bad—it's just that we have not given place for the absence of them. We've...
I had a thought this morning: what if everywhere I went held a special meaning to me because I had memories of God's presence there? What if I made it a point to acknowledge Jesus' presence with me in every place that I set foot? What if I could look back on my activities throughout the day and remember each moment fondly because I experienced God everywhere I went? The fullness of His presence is the ultimate gift, and memories are the ultimate...
