At the Intersection of Theology, Nature, and the Arts
Christ is building His kingdom with earth’s broken things. Human beings want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling with earth’s broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take …
Continue reading "Christ is Building His Kingdom with Earth’s Broken Things"
Father in Heaven! Hold not our sins up against us but hold us up against our sins so that the thought of You when it wakens in our soul, and each time it wakens, should not remind us of what we have committed but of what You did forgive, not of how we went astray …
From Douglas Steere’s book, Prayer and Worship, comes this excerpt on intercessory prayer: When we hold up the life of another before God, when we expose it to God’s love, when we pray for its release from drowsiness, for the quickening of its inner health, for the power to throw off a destructive habit, for …
Continue reading "Holding Up the Life of Another Before God"
Richard Foster writes: "Perhaps the greatest malady in the Church today is converts to Christ who are not disciples of Christ--a clear contradiction in terms. This malady affects everything in church life and in large measure accounts for the low level of spiritual nutrients in our local congregations. To counter this sad state of affairs, …
Continue reading "Converts to Christ Who Are Not Disciples of Christ"
JAMES 1:1-12 The author of James, whom we believe to be the half-brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem council (that we read about in Acts 15), wanted the church to grow up into the beautiful picture and pattern that God had set before it. He wanted the church to live out with enthusiasm …
For nearly a year now, I’ve had the privilege of living and working in Grand Canyon National Park. In late June, I was among some 1,100 attendees participating in one of the four nights of the 24th annual Grand Canyon Star Party. Astronomers from across the country, operating nearly 50 telescopes that were set up behind …
Continue reading "The End of Night? From The Starry, Starry Night to the Overpowering Street Light"
Their strength is to sit still (Isa. 30:7). In order really to know God, inward stillness is absolutely necessary. I remember when I first learned this. A time of great emergency had risen in my life, when every part of my being seemed to throb with anxiety, and when the necessity for immediate and vigorous …
He withdrew... to a solitary place (Matthew 14:13). There is no music during a musical rest, but the rest is part of the making of the music. In the melody of our life, the music is separated here and there by rests. During those rests, we foolishly believe we have come to the end of …
I am a staunch advocate for free speech and the free exercise of religion and am appalled at the steady erosion of these long-in-place and long-cherished rights in the United States.  Phil Robertson, of Duck Dynasty, recently responded to a question about sin, paraphrasing--what he believes to be--the Word of God. He has been threatened with …
Continue reading "Forcing Conformity While Calling It Tolerance"
Every hard duty that lies in your path, that you would rather not do, that it will cost you pain and struggle or sore effort to do, has a blessing in it. Not to do it, at whatever cost, is to miss the blessing. Every hard piece of road on which you see the Master’s …
Continue reading "Every Hard Duty, Every Hard Piece of Road, Every Point of Battle"
DFG Hailson 