WHEN THE FRUIT IS NOT YET RIPE

As I look out at our small orchard of fig, cherry, apple, nectarine, and peach trees in our front yard, I can see the first buds of fruit forming. Each tree has a different process of maturation and fruit bearing. The first appearance of a coming harvest is now taking...

PRAYERS THAT CAN CHANGE OUR WORLD

Years ago, on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle, I had a window seat as we flew over the Pacific Northwest. As we crossed Springfield, Oregon, a place where our family once lived, I looked down and could see familiar landmarks—the streets, parks, shopping malls,...

BELIEF THAT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

A question surfaced in Paul’s writings: Who can be saved?  I’ve heard several podcasts and interviews this year discussing Israel, her relationship with the Church, and her place in modern history. In one discussion on social media, there was a halting comment...

THE GRACE GOSPEL PART II

Continuing on from my previous post about a Gospel of grace, Paul wrote a warning to the churches in central Turkey. Speaking with apostolic authority, he pronounces judgment on Jewish preachers who were perverting the Gospel of grace. They were mingling grace with...

THE GRACE GOSPEL PART I

It’s not pleasant to buck an evil world system that also includes a religious system, It is uncomfortable to face the mixture of half-truths that have infiltrated and compromised the Church by that same system. It’s not easy to face our own propensity to live from our...

TRUE FREEDOM

At this time in my life, I am struck even more by this writing of Paul’s: “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has...