the Essays & Reflections
Tag: Love
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God loves us, and we will be okay.
In my writing and speaking I focus a lot on the unearned grace, tenderness, and love of God. For in my life, I cannot recall a time I didn’t believe I earned all the affection I received. And was therefore to blame when I felt unloved. I am not the only one with this experience,
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Grace will invite you
In the quiet stillness God awaited me. It was there in a moment that could have easily been lost. Jesus invited me. Invited me to see a life of grace as one of endless invitations. That the reality of grace must first unseat each of the ways I now see myself. For all my weaknesses,
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My Heart is Weak
My heart is weak. Yesterday a man overcome by evil killed scores with a truck in Nice, France. I’ve grown tired of being surprised, shocked, or acting as though the attack was unexpected. This is a sad reality of our world today. That a 24-hour news cycle hunts for tragedies affecting a group of people to grab
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In Solidarity with Us
It’s almost incomprehensible that the cosmic God of all things could allow evil to be inflicted upon others. As bombs explode, buildings crumble, seas rush in, or bullets tear through streets we ask questions of a God who seems disinterested and distant. We’ve been told that we’re exceptional in Gods eyes and have taken this
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Changing for the God who doesn’t
As I look to learn more of God in scripture I come to discover that his character is unchanging. That there is no more room for Him to be loving, compassionate, patient, and graceful. It is in the very core of God this unchanging and undying reality that many find comfort and rest. Yet for his steadfast
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Honest Realizations: Being Meaningful to Someone
The ministry/missionary world is immersed and exists within a single verse from the Apostle Paul – 1 Corinthians 9:20-23 (full passage below). It’s the passage where he talks about becoming all things to all people so that he might save some of them. This weekend that passage was weighing on me as I dreamt of
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Sermon: Experiencing God’s Love
This is the second and final sermon I needed to give for my Preaching Practicum course that I took this summer. It was this past Sunday (8/16/09) that I had the opportunity to Preach at Eden Prairie Presbyterian Church (www.eppc.com). I preached from John chapter 14 verses 23-27 and this was the second and final