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Friendship & Suffering

April 9, 2012 in Discipleship, Life with 3 Comments

**Today I am guest posting for Passage Church. At Passage, we have a regular rotation of author posts, as well as other resource to help you grow nearer to Jesus. I have posted a teaser here. Follow the link below for the full article, then come back after the jump and weigh in with your comments!

 

Recent happenings have reminded me of a time I spent with a very good friend of mine. We go back a while. We have taken a common interest in many activities and have enjoyed growing together in our friendship. Our time together centered around a tragedy. It was a tragedy he was dealing with, and still is. To my delight, he called me when it happened to come be near him.

Without a doubt, I’m there.

He talked, I mostly listened. Usually I want to offer solutions to problems, but God must have acted because I was able to just be silent (for the most part). There was pain, there was emotion, there was uncertainty; but most of all, there was trust.

My friend trusted me with every word that came out of his mouth. There was no real solution I could offer, just affirmations and companionship.

The value in these moments is simply silence and acceptance. Continue Reading…

Holding Stock in Belief

March 30, 2012 in Apologetics, Discipleship, Philosophy with 0 Comments

The difference between saying that you believe and actually believing in what you say is your level of investment.

There’s a lot of talk about what belief is and what it’s not. Questions that revolve around this matter largely consist of whether or not belief a valid thing to have, or if it is purely metaphysical. The physical being things we perceive with the 5 senses. The metaphysical being beyond, above, or parallel to the physical.

In other words, is belief justifiable, or does it exist only in that which we cannot see or feel our experience through the senses? But I suggest something different.

Everyone is a believer. Continue Reading…

Vote For My Author Photo!

March 29, 2012 in Leadership, Life with 6 Comments

I’ve recently had an author photo shoot for my first book, THINC About It: Reading Christ in Scripture. At first, I didn’t want it done. The last thing I want is my face plastered over the cover of my book, like so many other “Christian” books out there.

However, others, including the publisher, advised me that it would be a good idea to get a photo for the back of the book on the bottom left of the soft back and for the inside flap of the hard cover dust jacket. I succumbed, and had my photo work done by Lori Hill Photography. I also had her do our family photos because of how much we like her work. If you’re in the Cincinnati area and need photos done, it would be worth your time to check her out.

This is where I need your help. I’m terrible when it comes to these kinds of decisions, because it takes me for ever and I never land on a decision I feel good about. It’s almost as bad for me as going shoe shopping… don’t ask.

So here’s the photos. Each shot has a duplicate black and white. Chose from option 1, 2, or 3. I need your vote!

Option 1:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continue Reading…

Some of My Comment Spam

March 23, 2012 in Miscellany with 0 Comments

“I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They are very convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are too short for newbies. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.”
—Anonymous Spammer.

 

…

Did someone really think this kind of comment would make it public on someone’s blog? :-)

 

 

Pride and Grace: How to Know if God is Opposing You (Part 2)

March 21, 2012 in Discipleship with 1 Comment

*This is the second part of a two-post series of Pride and Grace: How to Know God is Opposing You*

What if I told you that God opposes some people? That there are some people God does not give His grace to? How would you respond to something like that? Does it conflict with what you believe about God and His love for us?

[ Continued from Part 1]

Continue Reading…

Pride and Grace: How to Know if God is Opposing You (Part 1)

March 19, 2012 in Discipleship with 1 Comment

*This is the first post of a two-part series on Pride and Grace.

What if I told you that God opposes some people? That there are some people God does not give His grace to? How would you respond to something like that? Does it conflict with what you believe about God and His love for us?

To be honest, it does for me, but that doesn’t change anything.
Because…. that’s exactly what the Bible says God does. That’s right, God keeps His grace from some people. Conflicting, I know. But it’s true. Let me explain.

Continue Reading…

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17, 2012 in Miscellany with 0 Comments

A warm greeting from a friend from the past!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone!

 

 

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My Site Got Hacked

March 15, 2012 in Miscellany with 6 Comments

 

This is what you would have seen if you visited this site within the past few weeks. I don’t know how, but this site got hacked. Somehow someone, or some autobot, got into my WordPress files and corrupted something. It would direct you to some other site that was potentially harmful to your computer.

I apologize for all the confusion the past couple weeks as I was trying to get this whole thing figured out. Thank you for your patients and loyalty. Continue Reading…

The Art of Thinking

January 13, 2012 in Philosophy with 2 Comments

 
Years ago, belief vs. consistency was a concept that never entered my mind.
But something happened to me. Something I never really considered. What was it? It was thinking about the beliefs I had, and whether or not they conformed with reality. From what I’ve learned, this used to be a common practice.

But it seems as though we have lost the art of thinking. I’m not saying that people don’t think, I’m saying that we as a culture don’t put serious thought into the consistency of our beliefs.

Instead, we have largely replaced sensical belief with emotional preference.

But there should be no division. Continue Reading…

On The Job Providence

January 11, 2012 in Life with 0 Comments

Below is a video I took while at work… in the soaking, wet, cold, very unpleasant rain.

Through my petty, momentary discomfort, God gives me perspective of His greater providence. Perhaps someone out there needs to hear this.



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