Stopping to Think

  "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion." Proverbs 18:2 We live in a day when the right to self expression, codified in America by our constitutional right to free speech, is not seen as something you are simply entitled to. Expressing what is happening to you and in you at any given moment is not something we are only allowed to do in our social media age, but is considered a positive virtue.  How does this line up with Proverbs? The writer in Proverbs 18:2 seems less enamored with free expression than the typical modern American. In fact, the free expression of one's opinion is juxtaposed, held up against and contrasted with, finding pleasure in understanding. Whereas the dispenser of this biblical wisdom might give advice that sounds like an old school dad- "you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion" - the modern individual, who sees self-expression as the highest ideal, might counter - "ah, yes...

“If you’re an elder, take a risk and get real with the others.”  Jeramie Rinne, Church Elders, 92 If you're like me, the sad truth is that many things that appear on the front pages of newspapers and scream from the top of news feeds, things that are genuine tragedies, be it police brutality, violent mobs in our major cities, bombings internationally, natural disasters-can all seem like so much white noise. Our brains weren't meant to handle this constant bombardment with information, and once it hits a certain point it all starts to blur. But some headlines jump out. For me, those aren't generally front page. They're obituaries. Certain obituaries in particular. The obituaries of those who have committed suicide grab hold of my attention like no other news I read. Like a lot of kids today, I became aware of suicide pretty early in life. I had an uncle and an aunt commit suicide when I was very young. Later in life I would lose another aunt, friends, and acquaintance...

Blank Do you ever experience times of feeling spiritually blank? Like no matter how many times you go to church, no matter how many songs you sing, no matter how much money you give, nothing you do is going to make you feel close to God? I go through such experiences on a frighteningly frequent basis.  What causes this sort of blank, bleak, hollow feeling? I think there are quite a few possibilities. It can be how the seasons affect our brains. I can feel blank any time of year, but I can pretty well count on hitting that point in either January or February. It can be derived from the circumstances around us leaving us overwhelmed. We just don't have the emotional energy to operate beyond survival mode. And these just begin the list, so many of which are circumstances genuinely beyond our control. Deafness But I want to focus our attention briefly on a passage that holds the mirror up to my life. Proverbs 28:9  says, If one turns away from hearing the law, even his prayer is a...

In Proverbs 3:5-6  we read these familiar words,  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. What does it mean to acknowledge the Lord in all your ways? I think in the text we see an action and an attitude. But before we look at those, we'll look at another action that we find elsewhere in the Bible. Prayer The first action that comes to mind in regard to acknowledging God is simply to talk to him. I remember when I was just out of high school and considering joining the military. I had a couple of meetings with the recruiter and was planning on moving that direction. One day I talked to my grandmother about this and she mentioned to me how hurt my grandfather was that I hadn't talked to him about it at all. He had served for over 20 years in both active duty and the reserves, and therefore would have had a lot of helpful input and wisdom to share. But I hadn't a...

Throwback Thursday is a series of posts, wherein I will on (some) Thursdays post a piece of writing from back in the day. Generally not from this blog. I will edit lightly for readability, but my intention is to allow each piece to stand basically as written. Over the years my mind has shifted on many things, as my knowledge of life, the Scriptures, and myself has grown. I'm not in the business of hiding this fact, so these will probably (at least on occasion) contain some things which even I think are crazy. Originally posted on Facebook as "Kinda follow up on Saturday night...Part 1" April 7, 2008 at 2:10am Public Friends of Friends Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Good feed South Lake Youth Ministries See all lists... Le Mars, Iowa Area Plummer, Idaho Area Family US Postal Service Acquaintances Go Back Well, when I gave the messege on Saturday night, my notes kinda went out the window. God led me in a different direction than I thought I...

I intend to be brief here. In recent days a young woman named Brittany Maynard has made headlines with her campaign for "death with dignity" laws, and for her moving to Oregon recently so that she might take advantage of theirs. Diagnosed with cancer at age 29, Brittany has decided to end her life on November 1st. Many people, including my fellow Christians, are distraught over this. Over her personal choice to end her life, and over the legality of doctors assisting her to do so in Oregon and four other states. That we have become a culture willing to celebrate self-murder, as it used to be called, is indeed very disturbing. I do not wish to argue those concerns, but rather applaud them. Exodus 20:13 is very succinct on this subject, "You shall not murder." We don't have the right to kill another person (we can discuss times of war and capital punishment another day). You also do not have a right to kill yourself. Why? Because our bodies do not fundamentally ...