Category: Uncategorized

God is Love

Let me begin by saying that after a three-week bout of pneumonia and extended recovery here at home, it is a joy to my heart to be back again with you.  I rejoiced weekly in that period of convalescence over the reports I heard… Continue Reading “God is Love”

What’s for Dinner?

Food is basic.  Not only is it the staple of life, it is the culinary glue that binds cultures together.  It is warm memories of satiation.  It defines a culture. It is fellowship around the table, or, in some cases around the campfire.  In… Continue Reading “What’s for Dinner?”

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

This last weekend after church, I drove over to Fullerton for a meeting hosted by CAIR – Council on American Islamic Relations.  I was surprised by two things: the size of the crowd, and that it included a fair number of Christian allies. I… Continue Reading “Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing”

Followers, not Admirers

Back in the 60s, at the height of the Jesus Freak outbreak, all sorts of folks sported bumper stickers that read, “Honk if You Love Jesus.”  Amid the cacophony of blaring horns, some wit came up with, “Tithe if You Love Jesus – Any… Continue Reading “Followers, not Admirers”

A Lot of “Splaining to Do”

I suspect that like our family, yours also tuned in religiously to the “I Love Lucy” show with Lucile Ball and her husband, Ricky Ricardo.  Time after time, when Ricky would come home from band practice – he led a Cuban dance band in… Continue Reading “A Lot of “Splaining to Do””

Under Authority

I remember back to when I owned a trucking company, gathering with my trucker buddies early, early in the morning at the job site, waiting for the day’s work to begin. We would stand about our rigs shooting the bull – I usually hauled… Continue Reading “Under Authority”

A Balm in Gilead

I remember as my mother was coming toward the end of her life, her looking up from her sick bed and admonishing me, “John, don’t get old.” What’s the alternative, I thought.  I was saddened to see this woman I had known as vibrant… Continue Reading “A Balm in Gilead”

The Pathos of God

We in the modern, secular age aren’t quite sure how to talk about evil. Over the past of our human history, we’ve thought of those actions and events destructive of the human enterprise and flourishing in many ways. One of the earliest can be… Continue Reading “The Pathos of God”

What’s My Line?

When I was a small child, maybe fourth or fifth grade, our family would gather around our old black-and-white TV to watch our favorite evening fare.  It was still our original TV bought in 1949 or so.  A little round screen and rabbit-ears antenna. … Continue Reading “What’s My Line?”

We Have Found Him

There’s a saying that comes out of the Buddhist tradition about encountering one who claims to be the Buddha.  “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.” Because he is not the genuine article, the Real McCoy.  Nothing but a fake and… Continue Reading “We Have Found Him”