"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it." (Hebrews 2:1, ESV) 'Brian! Pay attention!' A phrase I've heard many times in my life. More than just teachers have hurled it at me. I've often lobbed it at myself seeking to wake from a distracted stupor. I would like to think I'm skilled in the art of focus. But I'm not, I ...

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it." (Hebrews 2:1, ESV) 'Brian! Pay attention!' A phrase I've heard many times in my life. More than just teachers have hurled it at me. I've often lobbed it at myself seeking to wake from a distracted stupor. I would like to think I'm skilled in the art of focus. But I'm not, I ...

"The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor."(Proverbs 15:33, ESV) Reading the Scriptures daily takes any reader along the paths of familiarity. One of two things might be done on familiar paths. Either a discovery of needfully beautiful truths, or vexation because there is nothing new. I don't want to be vexed like a child. By God's g...

It is hard to imagine grief with hope. Losing someone or something, having deep sorrow and pain, suffering the irritation and grief in unmet expectations, and yet still being hopeful. Hope is the grounds for knowing something good is going to happen. How then can we have a hope of good to happen while suffering the grief of bad things? Is it possible to have emotions in tw...

Caring for another person is no small thing. Tending physical needs of clothing, shelter, health concerns is quite literally a matter of life and death. Taking another step is the regard for value of personhood beyond mere physical needs. Possessing a concern beyond one's own person, having regard for another's very soul, is a feat of cosmic proportions. Some might say th...

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"Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul."(1 Peter 2:11, ESV) Over the course of 2020 and starting into 2021, we've been privileged to deal with chaos. It could be worse. It could be better. It has been sort of an unraveled display of mankind's depravity. Maybe chaos is too strong of ...

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithf...

LAITY (lāı̆ty̆) Unless you have read from older authors or certain 'high church' denominations, you have probably never heard the term, laity. The most simple definition of the word is, "people". The greek word, ό, has three main glosses (or meanings)- people, crowd, or multitude. A great verse for this is found in Matthew 1:21, "She will bear a son, and you shall ...

I frequently breached the subject of judgment. I've often said, 'we need to withhold judgment'. A phase worth contemplation, even with it's frequent use, doesn't mean that it is well understood. What do I mean by such a phrase? Does it mean that we need to keep from being a judge? Yes, but it also means much more. Does it mean to be highly opinionated about every situatio...