It is not what happens to us that shapes our perceptions. It is how we understand what happens to us–how we experience and interpret and process what happens to us. The same thing happens to two different people with two different results. “The fire that melts the butter hardens the steel.” Many of us go …
Category Archives: Christian living
Perception is reality? Which reality?
You have likely heard the phrase, “Perception is reality.” Some interpret the phrase to suggest that every perception is true–that every perception is reality, or at least contains some element of reality. While it may be true that what people perceive is a reflection of some reality, which reality is reflected? A quote from Anais …
Reaping What We Sow
This morning at Baxter, I had the opportunity to visit at breakfast with brother Jorge Quijano, a Baxter graduate from the early days in Honduras, now working in Belize and Mexico. Our conversation turned to the nature of the Christian life and the many blessings that are part of our lives as Christians. Jorge said, …
Christian: Like Christ?
A recent email from MinEmergent included a quote from Diana Butler Bass (A People’s History of Christianity). “Whereas militant Christianity triumphs over all, generative Christianity transforms the world through humble service to all. It is not about victory; it is about following Christ in order to seed the human community with grace.” The brief quote, …
I am a Maximalist
I have been accused of being a perfectionist. I like to do things well, I want to do things right. I am demanding–of myself and of others (perhaps too much of others). But I do not see myself as a perfectionist. It would be more accurate to say that I am a maximalist. Especially in …
Act 21
Here we are in Act 21 (the twenty-first century). The drama continues to unfold. The good guys are fighting the bad guys. Sometimes you can’t tell who is on which side (no black hats and white hats). We are not the audience–we are on stage. It is a crazy drama like none you have ever …
Balanced Christianity
A MinEmergent devotional I received recently contained a quote from Philip Gulley’s book, If the Church Were Christian. I have inserted an editing suggestion in brackets. Consider whether your Christian life is balanced between believing and action, remembering that James 2 says they go hand in hand, and that neither is sufficient without the other. …
Yield [Romans 6]
“Do not render your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but render yourselves to God as those alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments of righteousness.” (Rom. 6:13). How shall we translate the little Greek word paristemi? The KJV uses yield; the NET translates present; the NIV uses offer. The …
Noah’s Ark–Top Eleven List
With apologies to Robert Fulghrum: Everything I need to know, I learned from comtemplating Noah’s Ark. 11. When God is part of your plans, there’s always a rainbow waiting. 10. The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. 9. When you’re stressed, float awhile. 8. Speed isn’t everything. Both the snails and the …
Bull’s Eye
We saw an unusual sight yesterday morning. In the eastern sky, a perfect circle rainbow framing the sun. Some mornings I greet the dawn without really seeing much–I mean that not much registers. How easily one misses the beauty of God’s creation. How easily we take for granted the rising and setting of the sun–and many other aspects …