Grace in the Contrasts
Fair-weather forecasters (probably not born and bred in Michigan) are saying this weekend is going to be chilly and drippy. But we know better, don’t we? As the northern winds and mist blow across our Mitten State a golden opportunity arises. A brief seasonal moment must be seized within a matter of days.
Of what do I speak? . . .
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Practice produces Progress
On our first try, should could barely get the arrows set on the string and they were flying all around the target and up into the trees. But after our third attempt at the range, she was landing those arrows into the target every time. Whap!
Progress!
Spiritual growth – progress forward as a Jesus-follower – doesn’t happen by a passive drip-process of reverse osmosis…
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One Dying Leaf
A turn of seasons. The grass will soon turn pale green and brown with dormancy. Flower buds and petals will close up, droop down, and fade away from the sun.
Autumn forces us to peer into the piercing beauty of growing, aging, and dying – a pacing set by providence.
It’s bewildering yet enlightening… even reviving to the soul….
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Dear Younger Me
Dear Younger Me,
Life is hard but one day things are going to be okay…
You will realize that grace wins and legalism loses; that nothing you can do will make Jesus love you more or less than He did when you came to Him for salvation at 7-years-old. You will wish you had known this much sooner in life, but grateful it happened at all!
You will . . .
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I’m Blessed With Iron
Today, I’m reminded of two men much wiser and further down the trail of life, who’ve taken time to invest in me. One up close. The other far away. They’ve asked me heart-level questions and remarkably remembered specific details about my life and ministry. The one nearby knows me much better than the other. But they both have deeply impacted my heart and mindset about pastoral ministry. . .
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Living “The Good Life”
“I’m living ‘the good life’!” someone remarked to me several months ago.
With a big smile, they proceeded to share with me how they were reveling in a windfall of financial freedom, extra time, good health, and frequent vacations. I was genuinely happy for them. Enjoying life isn’t bad. I’m not ready to hit people on the head with a Puritanical mallet, nor is God a cosmic kill-joy. . . .
