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12/22/2021 3 Comments Four Things God Hates St. Augustine wrote in Augustine Confessions:
"Thus they hate the truth for the sake of that other thing which they love because they take it for truth. They love truth when it enlightens them, they hate truth when it accuses them. Because they do not wish to be deceived and do wish to deceive, they love truth when it reveals itself, and hate it when it reveals them." We like genuineness when it suits or helps us, but not so much when it exposes us or shows our wrong motives or conduct. Perhaps that is why there is a Jewish parable that says, “Truth is heavy, so few men carry it.”
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10/20/2021 0 Comments Virtue Above Values
10/11/2021 0 Comments Triangulation
9/14/2021 0 Comments Disruptive Innovation
8/16/2021 0 Comments Blameless7/31/2020 0 Comments I & II Samuel
1/29/2020 0 Comments Civil Disobedience
6/14/2019 0 Comments Psalm 15--Unmovable Have you ever wondered, What do I have to do to live a stable life, to not be twisted with every fierce wind of opposition or pulled from what is right to what is ultimately degrading? How can I have the kind of healthy fellowship with God that will bring joy and fulfillment?
4/2/2019 0 Comments Living an Honorable Life The Denver West Point Society hosted its first Leadership and Ethics Conference for high school juniors in Colorado. It was entitled “Living an Honorable Life.” General (ret) George Casey served as the keynote speaker. I had the privilege of hosting at my table six juniors—Amaya, Grace, Elias, Sandra, Caleb and Haley representing three different high schools and towns. We studied vignettes that featured moral/ethical dilemmas with the students working through ethical decision-making models to reach wise solutions.
6/16/2014 0 Comments She Carried His SuitcaseMarianne got up out of the driver’s seat and left our van. I wondered where she was going and was amazed at what I saw. She walked about fifty feet away to a man pulling luggage out of his car. She grabbed his suitcase rolled it to the van and lugged it up the stairs before depositing it in the luggage rack. His bag was huge and she was probably in her sixties. When he climbed into the vehicle with the rest of his gear, he seemed embarrassed that this slight, gray-haired woman carried his heaviest suitcase.
1/21/2013 TurmoilMeditation
2 Corinthians 7:5—In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears inside. There is an old proverb, “Misery loves company.” No one wants to suffer alone unless it is with a heightened knowledge that others are spared. Understanding that we are not alone when we traverse tough times can in many ways bolster our morale. This is yet another reason why Scripture is so powerful. It gives us hope when we are discouraged. 12/23/2012 0 Comments First to KillMeditation
1 Chronicles 11:6—David said, “Whoever is the first to kill a Jebusite will become chief commander.” Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became the chief. Words definitely matter. So do our actions. On the surface, it appears that King David made a pretty smart decision. He needed to defeat the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem who had a successful history of repelling would-be conquerors. In fact, they told David, “You will never get in here” (vs. 5). David needed a general to lead Israel’s army so he issued the challenge in our verse for meditation. The king got what he wanted. Zeruiah’s three sons, Joab, Abishai and Asahel were all warriors and Joab seized the opportunity afforded by David’s challenge, and killed the first Jebusite. 6/11/2011 0 Comments Turning AwayI can imagine what happened. She had lived there too long. Over time, she grew increasingly used to the sleaze to the point where the vices probably no longer shocked her. No doubt she and her friends gossiped about the bizarre and strange conduct of the city’s inhabitants. Perhaps she was close to the two men soon to marry her daughters. Even her husband hesitated—unsure about leaving. In the end when the persistent angels grabbed their hands and pulled the four of them outside the city warning them to run and not look back, she didn’t get far before she turned away just once to see what should not be seen. That turning away made her a pillar of salt. (Gen. 19)
8/25/2008 0 Comments EthicsA home improvement con artist swindled a 100 year-old blind woman. He rang the woman's bell, unsolicited, to offer to do any repair work needed. The woman told him that for years she had struggled with a door that was difficult to open because it rubbed against the rug. To fix the problem, she agreed to pay the man $8,000, to jack up her house.[1]
8/18/2006 DefectsRecently, I was talking to John, one of our attendees at The Road Home who works at Gunderson, a manufacturing and assembly plant that makes cast steel parts. John shared how he and a team of workers had to travel to China to investigate why the parts they were receiving from the foundry in China were breaking. What they discovered was profound.
11/16/2005 ImpressionableNine young men sat on the hardwood court as I read to them a short sport story and then gave two applications. They listened attentively to the lesson on courage. After sharing I handed them each a copy to put in their notebooks. The practice was over but one player lingered to read the story on his own. Another stood silent as his dad animatedly discussed the paper with him. One of the mothers came and commented on how much she appreciated the character lessons.
4/18/2003 0 Comments GentlenessWe must have looked funny to the children and women watching us. Here we were, six men—each of us incapable of separating two plastic buckets. We tried twisting and pulling to no avail. One man used his pocket knife. I tried dropping the buckets on the floor. We could bend the plastic but we could not get one orange pail free from the other. It was like someone had super glued each set of buckets together. It felt like our manhood was on the line—this was getting embarrassing!
11/16/2001 PastorsMeditation
Acts 20:28--Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock that the Holy Spirit has appointed you to as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. 8/18/2001 0 Comments Fruit TreesIn my backyard are several fruit trees. Each one is shielded to some degree from the traversing sun by fir, cedar and maple that are older and tower above them. What is fascinating is how the apple, cherry, plum and apricot contort their branches in the best direction possible to capture maximum sunlight.
11/30/2000 0 Comments TundraFive men camped along the Tulik River in the remote tundra of the Arctic Circle near the Brooks Range. Our intent was to hunt caribou and ptarmigan and fish for grayling. For many men, few things exceed the thrill of hunting. It is a great test of wit, skill, perseverance, and careful planning which, if executed properly, results in the successful acquisition of food. It was a time of camaraderie and challenge.
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