Not long ago, I listened to a sermon series on the fruit of the Spirit, taken from Galatians 5. Midway through the series, I suddenly thought. Now wait a minute. Are we getting this mixed up? Reading the passage over added to my growing suspicion that the teaching we often hear on the fruit of …
Category: Inner Life
Enthroned on the Praises of Israel
"Where is God enthroned?" Will asked me as he loaded dishes into the dishwasher. My dishrag paused on the counter, still sticky with the remnants of a cherry pie I'd baked for a neighbor. I knew exactly what Will was referring to. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. (Psalm 22:3 ESV) …
The Call to Missions
I am about a third of the way through a book my sister gave me for my birthday. It's titled The Insanity of God, written by Nik Ripken. (The author writes under a pseudonym because of the nature of his work.) The Insanity of God is gripping, the kind of story that makes you laugh …
Pondering Life
Life is fragile. I stroke the downy cheek of my newborn son, and press him close to my heart. Wonder suffuses me, for life is fragile. ... Life is brittle. I watch the black clumps of Kansas soil falling into my grandma's grave. Sadness consumes me, for life is brittle. ... Life is brief. I …
Offense
"Being careful is not as much fun as being friends," said Frances. "Do you want to be careful, or do you want to be friends?" This quote comes from one of the delightful Frances books, A Bargain for Frances. Frances gets fooled by her friend Thelma, so she pulls off a stunt to trick Thelma back. But …
The Mind of Christ
What do you do with those deep desires lodged under your heart? In my post Delight Yourself in the Lord I talked about how our hearts ache for both fellowship with God and partnership with Him, mostly focusing on our longing to be one with Him. This post is directed toward the second part--our longing to be part of what He is …
Delight Yourself in the Lord
Psalm 37:4 is one of my favorite verses. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4 ESV) Every time I have heard this verse expounded on, the explanation ran something like this: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will change you to want what He …
A discussion about church
If you struggle with some aspects of the Mennonite culture, here is a place to read what others are saying and feeling. Asher Witmer is married to my cousin Teresa; they have two little boys and live in Thailand. Asher is passionate about God's kingdom, and tackles sticky issues with energy and grace. I have been …
hypothesis
If you remember, the last part of the quote that spurred my post Revival and Evangelism went like this: A church which does not go out into the world to press the claims of the Kingdom would not know revival if it came. -Robert E. Coleman I have been turning that over in my mind, …
Revival and Evangelism
Yesterday I braced myself and attacked my overflowing bookshelves. Some books went on a stack for my garage sale this weekend, others I set aside for the church library, and still others I plunked into the trash because too much of the book was already gone and who can stand to read a book minus the …
arabah rejoice 