A Pastor in The Northwest

Over the last few weeks, I've been pondering this statement that is found in Paul's letter to the Romans. He speaks of God's kindness and severity when it comes to faith and trust.  Here's the passage (Romans 11:21-23): For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. So, God is looking for humans who will trust Him and, even if they are not of Jewish descent, they will be fully welcome and 'grafted in' to His family of faith. Those who reject and refuse to trust in Messiah Jesus lose their connection to God's family. We're confronted, in this text, with both God's great kindness and His judgement. Can both be tru...

I read this 2 sentence part of 1 Chronicles 4 today, and wow - so many questions... 9 There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. 10 He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.   Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Ch 4:9–10).  So, let us run this down: Jabez's birth is a great pain to his mother. Hmm. YET, he was more honorable than his brothers (details???). He was known (?) for praying this prayer to Yahweh, which, broken down, is to the effect of "Hey Lord, make my life all up and to the right and eliminate any discomfort," right?" OK, hmmm. Selfish? Ambitious? Ridiculous? Sure, yet what does the text tell us?  And God GRANTED him his request! I don't know about...

This past weekend, Jackie and I and my family were blessed to host some great old friends from Tennessee. During our time living in Tennessee for some 8 years, we connected with Mike and Amy and many other couples in our small church in Antioch, Tennessee. Even though the visit was short, we were able to catch up on the last 20 years of life, share meals, laugh, and pray. Mike and Amy are still at the church where we first connected, and they celebrated 30 years of ministry there. We chatted about ministry, our families, the current state of the world, and all the changes in the past 2 decades. When we said goodbye Sunday afternoon, we felt like we had never missed a beat with Mike and Amy. By the way, they loved the weather, the Pinot Noir, the beach, the fresh seafood, and of course, those obnoxious Newport sea lions! They also loved meeting many of you in our 10:30am service and sharing the fried chicken after! This weekend reminded me of a great kingdom truth: when we are in Chris...

Good question.  I have more... Is it always religious per se?  Is it always about asking or begging God to do something for us? Does it always have to end with an 'amen'? Do we need to have the right words or phrases for God to hear and answer us the way we hope? Does God do anything after we pray? Does God hear us? And on and on we could go, right?  Lord have mercy on our questions! I enjoyed an article on the topic of prayer recently from the folks at Renew.org, and the article concluded with this: "According to Scripture, prayer is an important but not-so-structured part of our relationship with God. We do not have to end with amen. We do not have to close our eyes. It does not have to be a spiritual leader to pray for us. We do not have to use fancy language. Anyone can pray at any time, in any place, for anything. God will listen. The most important thing is to remember why we are praying and to make sure our minds and hearts are prepared before we approach God with ...

I found one of my first textbooks today that was part of my freshman year of Bible college back in 1991.  I remember the class vividly as old Dr. Beckman, with his crooked fingers, schooled us all in the Scriptural attributes of God. I highlighted and took notes as fast as I could and couldn't get enough!  That text and Dr. Beckman gave me a greater understanding of who God really is, and it deepened my love for learning and growing in my faith. Those first few lessons taught many key attributes of Almighty God, which included: God is ONE (in threefold personality) God is SPIRIT God is OMNIscient God is OMNIpotent God is OMNIpresent God is JUST God is HOLY God is GOOD God is ETERNAL God is UNCHANGEABLE God is CREATOR But, my favorite is this attribute: God is LOVE (1 John 4:8) Praise be to God!

  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...