I'm not sure how many times I've heard people say things like "Well, yes, God is love, but God is also just..." It's almost like they are afraid that if people believed that God really loved them fully, that they would take advantage of that and immediately run out to go on a sex and murder spree or something.  It's almost like they believe that love is only this shallow, timid fondness that is easily conquerable and trampled over.  They say it kind of like a person saying, "well, yes ...

I heard a sermon this last weekend about honor, and it has stuck with me more than a usual sermon would.  This preacher was talking about honoring people and how honoring those in authority over us, even when they are wrong or annoying or whatever else, is really honoring God. This is a difficult thing for me because one of my favorite things in life is sticking it to the man.  When that ignorant and power hungry flight attendant tells me that I’m not allowed to bring my guitar on the pla...

Everything ever made by any human being is simply an organization or reordering of that which is already inherently possible within the universe.  No one says “bippidy boppidy boo, here’s an iphone.”  Somebody figured out how to get this rock out of the earth, melt it down and combine it with this other rock, shape it like this, put this other sort of thing we found in the earth over the top of it, shoot this piece of metal from the earth up into the sky…etc After enough of this, you p...

In this holy week, I am thinking of Jesus and what must have been going on inside him as he moved towards the cross.  In John 17, we find an intimate prayer between Jesus and his Father only moments before he was arrested. In this prayer, these epic, last moments before he is killed, he prays for those of us who would believe in him in the future.  Jesus.  Praying for us in these final moments of what must have been tremendous fear and agony.  This is pretty amazing.  And what does he sa...

Ok, so I guess I should update the blog with the fact that I have read Love Wins at this point as well as both supporting and refuting arguments from different people about it.  And my conclusion…?  I’m sad. I’m sad that the people that claim to follow Jesus are so divided against each other.  I’m sad that so much of Christianity has become about ideas and systems and theologies rather than about celebrating and moving towards the miracle, the event, the life-changing reality that ...