At the Intersection of Theology, Nature, and the Arts
According to the US Department of State, Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their governments or surrounding neighbors simply because of their belief in Jesus Christ. A report by Open Doors USA identified 2016 as the “worst year yet” (in the 25 years of its monitoring) for Christian persecution. Each month (an …
Continue reading "International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church"
Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, above all that we ask or think...expect great things.--Andrew Murray Are you in sorrow? Prayer can make your affliction sweet and strengthening. Are you in gladness? Prayer can add …
Today's entry in the Our Daily Bread devotional begins with this: "I have always enjoyed the wit and insight of Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz. One of my favorite cartoons drawn by him appeared in a book about young people in the church. It shows a young man holding a Bible as he tells a friend …
Continue reading "Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa Preparing to Reopen"
The article to which I'm linking here reminded me, in the midst of all the MeToos, to celebrate and give thanks for all the "good men" who have used their strength to stand between me and those who would have harmed me. Good men who put themselves at great physical risk to protect me or …
Continue reading "Celebrating and Giving Thanks for All the “Good Men”"
I'm linking here to a lament over what is true of all too many churches. It begins with the author’s recollection of a pastor who, in the course of his sermon, said he was discussing things he didn’t understand. Worse, he seemed to have made no attempt to get a grip on the Word and …
Continue reading "Linking to and Reflecting upon a Lament about Anti-Intellectualism in the Church"
I had the pleasure this week of visiting with some of the birds that are under the care of the Cape Fear Raptor Center in Rocky Point, North Carolina. The organization educates the public on the importance of these extraordinary creatures and provides rehabilitation services to injured raptors with the goal of releasing them back to their natural habitats. …
My photograph, Shrimper off Topsail, will be on display at the State of the Art, Art of the State exhibition at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina from Oct. 8 to July 8.
The following was originally published on September 7, 2012 on my website, The Rockery (www.the-rockery.com). On August 29, 2005 at 6:10 a.m. Central Daylight Time, Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast of the United States as a Category 3 hurricane bringing with it devastating floods, battering winds . . . catastrophic destruction. More than …
Continue reading "How Could a Loving and All-Powerful God Allow the Catastrophic to Occur?"
I am often asked for recommendations of devotional materials. Topping my list is Devotional Classics. (I've mentioned DC elsewhere on this site but want to reemphasize it and a couple of others today). I've used this book in my seminary and church-based classes on spiritual formation and development in the disciplines of the faith. I have …
Time. From time to time. For the time-being. Time-worn, time was, time will, time is. *** Time comes In stints, in stages, in stretches. In spans, in seasons, in scores. In moments, in months, in millennia. In tempos, in tides, in tours. Sit for a spell and move in a shake. Take each day …
DFG Hailson 