Happiness has been the subject of much scrutiny and debate for centuries. It seems like everyone under the sun has tackled this subject with little or no progress in curing this perennial malady of the human condition. Either it has gone from one extreme to another or the Voice in the balance has been drowned out by the noise of the former. However, it can be found, I tell you, it can! Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Christian, Christianity, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 2:4-9, experiencing God, finding happiness, God, God living, happiness, hearing God, intimacy with God, Jesus Christ, Knowing God, life of God, Matthew 5:17, personal relationship with God, pursuit of happiness, relationship with God, seeking God, Solomon, stoicism, walk with God, walking with God
There is an esoteric line in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that has always stuck out to me. It is where Lady Montague asks her nephew Benvolio if he has seen the missing Romeo. He responds,
“A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad;
where, underneath the grove of sycamore
that westward rooteth from the city’s side,
so early walking did I see your son…” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ani l'dodi v'dodi li, dampness of the night, experiencing God, God, hearing God, I have taken off my robe— must I put it on again?, I slept but my heart was awake, intimacy with God, Knowing God, lover, lovesick, lovesickness, relationship with God, Romans 2:4, Romeo and Juliet, Song of Solomon, Song of Solomon 5, Song of Songs, Song of Songs 5, Song of Songs 5:2-6, sycamore, walk with God, walking with God
In the heart wrenching biography, Schulz and Peanuts, David Michaelis offers fans of the beloved comic strip a rare look into the life of the deeply wounded and troubled man, Charles Schulz. He recounts on one occasion when his wife Joyce, upon noticing his unhappiness, suggested that he see a psychiatrist to which he responded, “No, I don’t want to go to a psychiatrist because it will take away my talent.” (p.385) I do not think that anyone would have wanted to take away his talent for drawing cartoons, just the hurting that served as the impetus for the Peanuts. Much of his strips centered on loneliness, depression, sadness, anxiety, worry and a whole host of other maladies. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Charles Schulz, Christian, Christian living, Christianity, church, experiencing God, forgiveness, God, healing, heart, intimacy with God, Jesus Christ, Knowing God, Peanuts, personal relationship with God, relationship with God, Romans 8:7, shame, walk with God, walking with God, will of God, wounds, wounds of the heart
When you woke up on Christmas morning as a child to find a gift that you had longed for intensely, were you more amazed at the sense of wonder of having received such a gift or the gratitude that preceded it? You probably never noticed the gratitude because of the overwhelming effects of the wonder. It is the gratitude that allowed the gushing torrent of flood-filled wonder to occupy such a large place in the heart that nothing could ever seem to penetrate it with the dreary darkness of banality, familiarity or what is common. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christian, Christian living, Christianity, church, God, God living, gratitude, hearing God, Jesus Christ, John 4:10, life of God, living water, misery, pain, personal relationship with God, relationship with God, Samaritan woman, seeking God, walk with God, walking with God, wonder
One story that has absolutely captured my fascination over the years as it pertains to a knowing relationship with God is in Matthew 12:1-8: “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, ‘Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.’ He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 1 Chronicles 21:13, Christian living, experiencing God, find God, hearing God, Hosea 6:6, how to develop a relationship, intimacy with God, King David, Knowing God, knowing God personally, love of God, man after God's own heart, Matthew 12:1-8, personal relationship with God, pharisees, relationship with God, spiritual help, temple, walk with God, walking with God, will of God
In a world where so much advice is given on how to develop an intimate relationship , I thought I would explore this avenue by way of a via negativa of sorts. Instead of shedding a little bit of light on the subject, I thought I would shed a little darkness. After all, isn’t it important to make use of the light when we can first acknowledge that we are actually in the darkness? The following treatise should then be sufficient provision in order to destroy a cherished relationship based upon centuries of these finely tuned inadequacies: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christian discipleship, Christian living, experiencing God, God help, God knowing, hearing God, hearing the voice of God, how to develop a relationship, intimacy with God, know God, Knowing God, love letters, love of God, personal relationship with God, relationship with God, seeking God, spiritual growth, walk with God, walking with God, what is the purpose of life
There was once an atheist, a theologian and a buffoon who were carrying on a conversation about God. The theologian waxed eloquently a fundamentally flawless concept of God with high and lofty vocabulary reserved for the intellectually elite of his kind. The buffoon looked onward in gaping wonder at the profoundness of his espousal of God. Never had he heard such a symphony of diction and a lexis of language. The atheist, however, spoke the same language, was acquainted with the esoteric vocabulary which he utilized so effortlessly and challenged his statements as meaningless. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ad hominem, anti atheist, Antony Flew, atheist, Bertrand Russell, Bildad, Concluding Unscientific Post-Script, Eliphaz, Ezekiel 4:12, falsifiability, falsification method, five senses, God help me, God knowing, God speaks, hearing the voice of God, Is God good, Is God real, Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 23:26, Jeremiah 2:13, Job, listening to God, parable of the garden, relationship with God, theologian, theology, walk with God, where is God, who is God, Zophar
At one time or another we have used the term superficial to describe someone that we know who is overtly concerned with anything of a shallow nature. They are concerned with their outward appearance to the hilt, what people they prefer to be seen amongst, the delightful luxuries they surround themselves and in general an absolute suppression of any emotional content. They are the Hollywood celebrities, those belonging to the “cool crowd”, church member cliques or members of the local country club who shmooze with sophisticated elitists like themselves. You know who they are and you want so much more because you know that life is lived out at its emptiest level among these. You want something that is real. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: becoming real, being real, crutch, discipleship, Essene, fake people, G.K. Chesterton, God, hide, homosexuality, Jesus, John 3:20-21, John 5:41, Keith Green, Knowing God, knowing God personally, Mark 2:17, No Compromise, official, Peter Pan, Pharisee, phony people, relationship with God, Roman Catholic Church, Sadducee, shame, superficial, terra firma, The Velveteen Rabbit, Unstrung Heroes, walk with God, walking with God, Zealot
I once was part of a church that taught that the sinful nature could be totally eradicated; that is, gone, wiped out completely. I find this strangely amusing in light of the fact that pastors often chuckle behind closed doors on the difficulty of their congregations. The jokes tell us something different. In fact, pastors in most denominations lament over the high stress nature of their jobs in which they must satisfy everyone, not to mention the damage that is done to their own wives and children. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Abraham, Christian living, condemnation, condemno, David, Death Angel, find God, freedom, God knowing, hearing God, hearing the voice of God, high places, intimacy with God, Jacob, Jesus Christ, Josiah, know God, Knowing God, Laban, Leah, love of God, pain, passover, personal relationship with God, Rachel, relationship with God, Roman Catholic Church, Romans 2:4, Romans 6, Romans 7, sanctification, Solomon, theology, walk with God, walking with God, where is God, will of God
Jesus’ proper interpretation of the law can be found in the charge, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt. 5:43-44) It was this righting of the ship that frees us from the bondage of bitterness so that we might spend mercy on the individual who may not be so merciful. I am sure he had Leviticus 19:18 in mind when he said this: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” But what happens when the enemy is not just another person but you? What do you do when you have become your own worst enemy? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ad infinitum, condemnation, existentialism, Genesis 1:27, God, Hosea 2:23, Hosea 2:4-15, Hosea 2:4-5, Hosea 2:6-7, Jesus Christ, Knowing God, Leviticus 19:18, Luke 5:31, Matthew 5:43-44, Nietzsche, perfection, perfectionism, redemption, relationship with God, seduction, sickness unto death, sin, stranger to self-hatred, walk with God