A Pastor in The Northwest

I read this quote the other day, and it has stuck with me: St. John Cassian recalls a striking illustration that a wise old abbot named Moses taught him. "Your mind is like a flour mill; it keeps grinding all the time, but you are responsible for deciding what it grinds." Hmmm. My wife Jackie often says I'm guilty of overthinking things. She's right, as usual. What occupies our minds? I'm pretty sure what consumes our thoughts bleeds out into our actions, which should make us all be more on guard, right? Maybe Paul's words in Philippians can help us: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true...

I read that statement recently, and I've been thinking about how to do this better.  I often want to fix stuff and move on instead of being in the moment and feeling.  Maybe it is a male thing, but I want to grow in this and mature in really being honest with how I'm doing in the moments that I find myself in. This past week, my father-in-law passed away too soon, and I find myself in a state of shock and sadness.  I really didn't know him that well until the last few years, when we've had lots of meals and conversations and shared interests.  Sometimes, just like that, people are gone.  Today, I recognize that, and well, I'm sad.  That's enough. Photo by Mulyadi on Unsplash

Thinking of this powerful song of praise today from the late great Rich Mullins.  He may have passed from this world in 1997, but his melodies and lyrics still somehow challenge and inspire me! Rich was a true artist. In his memory, here's the link to the official video of 'The Color Green' CHORUS Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise   (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhGOosxTLrY) Photo by Andrew Coelho on Unsplash

Now that technology has advanced so much, we can measure just about anything. In fact, modern sports seems to be dominated by stats and numbers, and metrics. Have you watched a Major League Baseball game lately? Sheesh... But, it isn't just sports that have embraced all this; ministry has also been affected. In a world of metrics, it’s easy to become obsessed with statistics and start to quantify every aspect of our lives. Stats can even become a type of scorekeeping between churches or pastors: “We have more members than you do.” We may never say those words out loud, but we think them; more than one person has made the mistake of measuring a ministry based on attendance. But God has His own method for measuring success.  Barry, J. D., & Kruyswijk, R. (2012). Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan . Lexham Press. For me, I find it a bit exhausting. However, I do get it. We like things we can quantify and control if you will. Unfortunat...

If God is light and if we humans are created in His image and likeness, well then, an article I read today makes perfect sense. Here's one of the early paragraphs: "An extraordinary experiment on mice and leaves from two different plant species has uncovered direct physical evidence of an eerie 'biophoton' phenomenon ceasing on death, suggesting all living things – including humans – could literally glow with health, until we don't." In the writings of the New Testament, we discover more... 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. -1 John 1:7 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), -Ephesians 5:8-9 So we are made alive in Messiah Jesus, and the light in us shines out. Could it be that science has finally caught up to this t...

I've been thinking about this idea today of not eating and of fasting in general. Fasting is something Jackie and I do regularly. That may sound weird to you, but it is a discipline that has benefited us physically, spiritually, and even mentally (do you realize how much we think and deal with food?). In Scripture, fasting was part of the normal spiritual lives of people. It was often connected to prayer.  With both of these tools, people set aside the normal rhythm of life and had space for God to speak and direct. Other times, people fast in mourning or times of reflection and repentance of sin. Today, on my extended fast to kick off the work week, I found myself thanking God for the blessing of being able to voluntarily fast in a world where many don't have access to food.  As I drank cold, filtered water from my refrigerator, I thanked God for clean water. I also thanked God today for being living water and for the cleansing of all our sins in Messiah Jesus' death and r...