A Pastor in The Northwest

  I read this today (and prayed it too!) on commonprayer.net: "Holy One, so often we claim to see but prefer our blindness. Send us teachers and saints whose lives speak loudly of faith and perseverance to guide us when we unknowingly stray from wisdom’s course. Help us to find the Way, the Truth, and the Life in this world of shortcuts, deception, and death. Amen." Photo by Michel Stockman on Unsplash  

Sunday was the big finale of the 2026 World Cup hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico (in 16 cities). This wrapped up 39 days and 104 matches with some 48 different countries battling it out on the fields. And the sport you asked? Well, we call it soccer, but, for most of the world, it is futbol! If you didn't watch it, Spain and Argentina were in the championship, and Spain won the match. Guess what the estimated number of people who viewed it? A staggering 6 billion. That's with a "b" folks! Sunday I found myself pondering this sport and the global fascination with it, and, if you watched the opening ceremony, one might think this was religion. In fact, one of our tour guides in Barcelona, while on our trip to Spain this past March, said that while Roman Catholicism is Spain's official faith, futbol was the real religion. Ugh. As we who follow Jesus know, there is so much more to life than a 90-minute match! Jesus spoke of bringing an abundant life to any wh...

I was reflecting today on the idea of Jesus as my shepherd as described in John 10.  Specifically, I'm thinking about listening and hearing His voice - a voice I recognize because of the time I've spent with Him.  He calls Himself the 'good shepherd' who acts as a guide, a protector, and a defender.   2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper [ d ] opens the door [ e ] for him, [ f ] and the sheep hear his voice. He [ g ] calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [ h ] 4 When he has brought all his own sheep [ i ] out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize [ j ] his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger, [ k ] but will run away from him, because they do not recognize [ l ] the stranger’s voice.” -John 10 NET I wonder sometimes if I allow too much noise and distraction to really hear from Jesus.  Do I recognize His voice?  Am I following where He and His voice are lead...

I've been thinking a lot about a concept I read recently called "radical obedience." This is the idea that if and when Jesus commands us to do something or go somewhere, we simply do it - no questions asked. To be honest, this challenges me greatly. Blind obedience with no questions asked. In theory, absolutely! In practice, well, I have questions. Yet, at the end of Jesus' famous 'sermon on the mount', He said it this way in Matthew 7: 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a gre...

Yesterday I was at a concert, and the headliner artist started his set with:  "Hello and welcome...to YOUR town!"  Now, I'm not sure if he didn't remember the name of the town he was in or if he just got a bit off script, but I've been thinking about that phrase "your town."  Hmm. I've never really thought of the town I live in as mine, really.  Yet, I'm starting to think that might be a good way to think of it because it gives me a sense of ownership and investment.  If it were truly my town, I'd be interested in working to keep it healthy and happy and thriving, right?  I guess I'm now thinking about how I can operate for the good of the city and the people who call it home like I do.  How can I help in the economics of the town, or maybe better support the leaders who make decisions for the citizens?  How can I help with the quality of life and those who are underserved? How can I be proactive about the safety and well-being of those w...

I have heard it said by critics of the Bible that the God revealed in the first or 'old' testament is an angry God and the God revealed in the second or 'new' testament is a loving God. I must disagree. In fact, buried in the Torah, in the book of Exodus, we have the famous ten commandments in chapter 20, and look at the text of the second command: 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. -Exodus 20:4-6 (ESV) So, from the beginning of the Hebrew nation's moral laws, God wanted them to know that His love-to-punishment ratio, as it were, was 1000:3! ...

In Jesus' famous sermon on the mount, He makes a connection between the practice of prayer and the discipline of fasting. Here's Matthew's recording of this in chapter 6:9-16 (ESV): Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  And when you fast..." Prayer AND fasting complement each other well. Jesus' statements seem to affirm and assume people of faith would practice both of these disciplines.  For me, if I am facing a major decision or difficulty, these 2 practices really help enhance my ability to focus, reflect, and really listen to t...

I'm always excited to learn new ways to increase our prayer, and this idea was one I read today from one of my favorite devotional sites commonprayer.net : Prayer Bowl Some families and communities find it helpful to have a prayer bowl on the coffee table or in the room where they gather to pray each day. Whenever someone asks for prayer, they write the request on a little slip of paper and put it in the bowl. Then when it’s time for morning or evening prayer, each person can take a few slips of paper from the bowl and read out the requests during the time for prayers for others. This is also a good way to remember -people we don’t see every day, like children in war zones, victims of human trafficking, or our political leaders. Families with kids or grandkids might really get traction with something like this, right? May we be a people devoted to prayer! 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spir...

I was talking with someone recently about the power of God's Word in Scripture and how the Bible, the collection of Hebrew and Christian writings, inspired by God, ALONE gives life.  Even though there are other sacred texts, only the Bible has the powerful, albeit mysterious dimension that no other text contains.  I can personally attest to this. I've read texts like the Quran, the Bhagavat Gita, and even the Book of Mormon, but none captured my heart and soul like the Bible. In the Bible, God's Word, in Messiah Jesus, becomes the very food and drink for humanity. In Messiah Jesus, the Word in flesh, becomes life itself. Mysterious, yes, but true nonetheless!  This is why the writer of Hebrews wrote:   For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. -Hebrews 4:12 ESV Photo by Wesual Click on Unspla...

Some random thoughts on things that have age... Jesus made already aged wine - is this a clue to Creation's age?  Earth & solar system made with all the necessary items for a sustainable universe. The first humans mentioned in Genesis were adults. Might God have created an 'already aged earth'? Let there be light implies light was a reality maybe in place already - stars so far, far away already set in place. What if eternity was built into creation from the start? Continuing the pondering... Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

How the outside smells after a good rain. Playing my guitar with brand new strings. When my wife Jackie reaches for my hand to hold. The first sip of a great Oregon Pinot Noir. When I hear my grandson Elias laugh. The tug of my heart when I see someone care for someone else. Walking through falling cherry blossoms. Letting the river move me while I'm on a paddleboard. Insight from a passage of the Bible I'd never noticed before. The sound of Pacific Ocean waves hitting the sand. Photo by Alexas_Fotos on Unsplash

Lately I have been paying attention to the trend of younger people using AI as a companion. The numbers are staggeringly high - over 70%! Teenagers are turning to machines for friendship instead of their peers. Whoa. A whole generation choosing the artificial over the real. As one TED talk I watched pointed out, we would be wise to protect human connection - even when it is messy. Resistance literacy - the act of showing up and being human in a world telling us not to be - is crucial. I think this is where a healthy church family can be an antidote for our modern, AI addicted world. We can walk together in this life alive and vibrant and messy and disappointing, but as a family, loving one another. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. -Romans 12:10 NIV Link to that TED talk by Bryony Cole Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

I was thinking today about the beginning of what we refer to as "The Lord's Prayer" as recorded by Matthew in the famous sermon on the mount.  It begins like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name... To pray like this, then, we acknowledge that we are part of a family and a community of followers and we are God's children.  Not only this, but as His children, we honor and lift up His name and order our lives to bring Him honor. He is sovereign over all things yet loves us like the best of earthly fathers might! We want to be a people devoted to praying to God Our Father; we also want to honor Him by how we live, right? Let us pray to and live for Our Father who is in the heavenly realms, ruling over all, and bring Him honor today!  Photo by Derek Thomson on Unsplash

I read this today and found it helpful in fleshing out more of the family of faith dynamic: “In the family, I learn the complex choreography of love—what it means to give and take and share, to grow from obedience to responsibility, to learn, challenge, rebel, make mistakes, to forgive and be forgiven, to argue and make up, to win without triumph and know when graciously to lose. It’s where we acquire emotional intelligence, that delicate negotiation between the given and the chosen, the things I will and the things resistant to my will.” ​— Jonathan Sacks, English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, and author (1948–2020), from Celebrating Life: Finding Happiness in Unexpected Places. 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of...

I was listening in on a devotional today based on Luke 24, and I heard something I just had to share! It is recorded by Luke that 2 disciples were walking toward a small village called Emmaus on the day Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus then shows up next to them and asks them what they were discussing together. So then a conversation occurs where Jesus (whom they don't recognize) listens and then teaches them all about Scripture being fulfilled. You can read it again if you are interested, but here's what is curious for me...one of them is named Cleopas. Where have we heard that name before? Good question! If you look at John's good news account, chapter 19:25 lists Mary, the wife of Cleopas, as one of the women at the cross that day. So, could the other disciple on the road that day have been Mary? So, a married couple of disciples was visited by Jesus on their way home to Emmaus? This couple was likely processing the traumatic events of the weekend, and Jesus walked w...

As we settle into the Spring season here in the NW, I find myself enjoying the sunrises rolling in each day. Every new day is like a gift and an opportunity to thrive and be Jesus's kingdom people. The brighter mornings remind us of God's creation and the passing of the day before that we now can leave behind. And, maybe most important, each new day allows us to love one another as a testimony to our great Savior Jesus Christ, who first loved us! I'll leave you with a thoughtful prayer from commonprayer.net I read recently: "God of heaven and earth, help us to live in this world faithfully guided by your love, which manifests itself in our love toward one another. Prepare us for that great gettin’ up morning when your new world is fully revealed. Amen." We love because he first loved us. -1 John 4:19 Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash

Easter Sunday's message focused on allowing the reality of Jesus' resurrection to be a catalyst or reset for many areas of our lives. Those areas might include our thinking, our heart, our dreams and even our regrets, etc. What feelings or impressions does this idea of resurrection bring about for you? Does it reframe what is possible for you? Can resurrection start a whole new way to live and be human for you now? Every baptism done by immersion in water retells this resurrection story - buried in Christ (under water) and then raised up to new life (coming up out of the water)! Could it be that your NEW life starts right now? 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the m...

After almost 2 weeks seeing a lot of Spain this past month, I can definitely say that when in western Spain in the spring, Rioja gets some rain (not sure if it's just in the plain...)! My wife and parents really enjoyed our holiday there, learning a great deal about the country, the language, and the culture from the history and beauty of the city of Barcelona to the picturesque island of Mallorca, and finally to the wine region of Rioja. Wow. Here are some takeaways: Food - people in Spain eat way differently than us. From tapas to ox tail to Iberico ham, we really enjoyed their Mediterranean cuisine! History - from the origins dating back to ancient Rome, the country is awash in ancient ruins dating back thousands of years. Often, newer buildings are simply grafted onto old ruins - wow. Language - Spain has regions that involve or showcase different dialects of Spanish, Catalan, and even some French and Latin influences. Bon dia in Barcelona and buenos dias in Rioja! Culture ...

In studying for last week's sermon, it dawned on me that the final part of the chapter reveals that the older brother in the famous prodigal son parable of Luke 15 was ALSO lost.  He was lost in the sense of not embracing the love, compassion, and forgiveness of the father, much like the religious leaders who were critical of Jesus being friendly with the lost and 'men and women of questionable character.'  To be found in Messiah Jesus, our hearts should be in sync with the Father's heart when it comes to other people - especially those who may seem hard to love. Lord, give us a heart transplant today so we can have Your heart towards others! Photo by Daniel Jensen on Unsplash

  In the ancient church tradition of Lent, the fourth Sunday is know as "Laetare" meaning to rejoice. It is the halfway point between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday and reminds followers of the paradox of rejoicing while suffering. The Eastern Orthodox call the season of Lent a 'bright sadness' where we experience joy and grief at the same time. I think I can understand this better the older I get. Something can be two things at the same time like beauty and danger or peace and adversity. Sometimes grief and joy are related. Loss and delight can be brothers and sisters. In a devotional I read today, I read this: As Francis Weller astutely notes, "to be alive and to love means we will also experience sorrow and loss. Acknowledging this reality enables us to find our way into the grace that lies hidden in sorrow. We are most alive at the threshold between loss and revelation." In the paradox of walking with Jesus, sometimes flourishing can appear to be loss...