It’s a simple question.  Either you are [A] leaving stuff of your behind to follow Jesus like the people in the Bible, or [B} you are leaving Jesus stuff behind to have Jesus follow you.  ”B” has become a really popular choice in my faith circles… that makes me feel better because I spent (spend?) a lot of time doing that too.  It’s easy really: you go about your plans and your dreams and your life, seeking to raise your status your profile your accomplishments and desires AND you do this while praying deeply and “seeking” Jesus, studying Scripture and so forth…  It’s like being in a two person boat and saying, “Jesus you paddle for me and I’ll steer.”  ”Lord, I can’t do this without you, I need you in my life…if I’m ever to get that awesome Brownstone condo in Park Slope.” Continue reading →

I absolutely 100% believe that if someone honestly wants to know God, or wants to know whether God exists, or anything along those lines…that He gives us enough information to know for sure, and actually guides us through the process of finding out the truth.  So when Christians or non-Christians bring up questions about God that I’m familiar with, I just dive in…  The truth is out there, and it’s often closer than you think.  You know the game 5-degrees to Kevin Bacon?  I think it’s really only one or two steps, for even the most distant person to connect to God… just one or two things that need to be seen or understood or to learn.  ”Well,smarty pants, if it’s so simple, then why doesn’t everyone believe in God?” Continue reading →

If life is like a journey, then what it is a journey towards?  For many New Yorkers it’s a journey towards greater wealth, greater opportunities (which often means more opportunities to make and spend money), greater satisfaction, greater personal power or success.  But for Jesus-people who’ve opted out of these things, they’re on a different track: if life’s a journey, it’s a journey toward Sanctification.  The reason I point this out is, for people who’s life is a journey toward wealth or power, they think getting more of these things means happiness…  But Jesus-people believe that the happiness that comes from more wealth and power is fleeting – it wears off as soon as you imagine it’s possible to get more…  Instead they believe that happiness comes from greater sanctification.  Being more like Jesus will make their relationships better.  Being more like Jesus will make their work better.  Being more like Jesus will make everything better… So HOW do we get this? Continue reading →

Sorry for the lack of posts lately!  I’m grateful that through the magic of the inter-webs we have a voice that reaches beyond our little church here in NY.    And I’m humbled that these silly posts can be enlightening and encouraging to anyone.  God gives each of us special perspectives of His Grace and His work, so we all benefit when we learn from one another’s insights…

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If you’re a believer and you’ve been reading up on the Spiritual Gifts posts, and you’ve even started to identify gifts – you’re ahead of the curve!  So you start using your gifts, gifts of teaching, worship, counseling, or something else…in full faith that God is going to do great things, but everything you do seems to fizzle out.  Now be honest with yourself here.  God doesn’t send the Holy Spirit so that you can get “kinda’ neat” gifts that fizzle out in the real world.  The whole idea was that, in some small but powerful ways, you will start to change the world with your God-powered gifts…  So what happened?  Why isn’t it working?  Why can’t I knock this ball out of the park?  Maybe you have on one or two occasions, but now it’s not working and you’re wondering why… Here’s why: Continue reading →