Category: Thursday Thoughts

Last week I talked about my tendency to be more cognitive than emotive in my faith. I will no doubt remain that way for the rest of the cruise. I talked about the importance of knowing our God-given creative genius so that we can better understand how God wants to distinctively use us in redeeming his…

I have had several individuals who know me describe me as more cerebral than emotional.  From the inside, this doesn’t feel right, but I understand how they can say that. I have degrees in engineering and statistic, which would imply more cognitive than emotive.  However, much of my childhood would best be described as impulsive and…

So how much of what you read or listen to do you agree with? I have been criticized by some Christians for the kinds of authors I read. I read very widely and a lot. However, I read authors who profess no faith in Christ as often as those who do. Even within the Christian faith,…

In this series on Open your Window, we have been looking at why so few Christians have wide-open windows of faith as demonstrated by their lives. We have seen how anxiety in our culture and the Christian’s reaction to stress has reduced their ability to live by faith as demonstrated through Covid. The last factor…

In these few posts, we are looking at three influences that seem to be narrowing the window of faith of Christians these past few decades. Last week I wrote how the epidemic of fear which has shown itself in the Covid-19 pandemic, simply allowed the anxiety of Christians to be manifested in some not so Christlike…

Having lived through several wars, pandemics, and social, cultural, and economic crises, let me suggest that the most pressing danger to the Church is not a virus but the overwhelming presence of anxiety that has been destructive to our faith. It is our reaction to pervasive cultural and personal anxiety that continues to narrow our…

Last week I wrote about how I have watched the faith of Christ-followers deepen and change over a lifetime. I am intrigued by how many writers of discipleship and/or spiritual growth write on the subject while still in the first half of their life. For me, the most instructive authors are those who wrote toward the…

Is light a wave or a particle? The answer according to quantum physics is yes!  It is both, which is an apparent paradox. So much of life in Christ is a yes to apparent paradoxes. It is what JI Packard* called an antinomy. It isn’t just a paradox which is a juxtaposition of words that present opposing views,…

One of the aspects of growing older is that things that confused or frustrated me in my earlier life often become clear. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but it usually does. One of the most frustrating times in my life, without exception, was the 14 years I spent starting a church in Orlando.…