Pastor Note #127: A Devotional on the Lord’s Return

Introduction:Surely, there are few biblical topics that have generated as many books, articles, Bible studies, and sermons as the topic of the return of Christ.  They are often filled with charts and tables and complex speculations that make quantum physic seem simple.  A. W. Tozer writes this, “There have been enough foolish formulas advanced about … Continue reading Pastor Note #127: A Devotional on the Lord’s Return

Pastor Note #126: A Good Friday Devotional

Introduction:At the very core of his being, our God is a relational God.  Every fiber of God’s nature is biased toward relationship.  We see that in the mystery of the Trinity—one God in three Persons, woven in a profound interrelationship of love, one with the other. We also see this relational nature of our God … Continue reading Pastor Note #126: A Good Friday Devotional

Quote of Note #75: God Is Not Always Gentle

"Anyone who has any experience at all of the living God knows that he is nothing at all like this Somebody who tut-tuts politely at our failings and lays a soothing hand upon our anxious little heads.  The God, who lives in us if we allow him, is not necessarily always gentle: he can be … Continue reading Quote of Note #75: God Is Not Always Gentle

Quote #13 — God as He Is

"But how far removed from the idea of the New Testament are the insipid words of the hymn which says, 'He came sweet influence to impart, a gracious willing guest,' and goes on to say, 'and his that gentle voice we hear, soft as the breath of even, that checks each fault, that calms each … Continue reading Quote #13 — God as He Is

Prayer Note #47–A Prayer for Pure Pleasure

Lord, my Shepherd, shepherd my wayward will.  Keep prodding me back onto the right path.  You see my mind -- how it wanders after pretty, poisonous pleasures.  I beg your help.  Keep me from pursuing those enticing, envenomed enchantments Capture my heart with visions of your true joy, the powerfully pure pleasures of your kingdom.  … Continue reading Prayer Note #47–A Prayer for Pure Pleasure

Pastor Note #45 — Living in Time, Living with God: Part 1–Introduction

  Living in Time, Living with God             I do not have a good natural sense of the passage of time.  Some people are very good at estimating how long an activity will take to complete.  Some folks almost never lose track of how much time has passed between when they sit down to work … Continue reading Pastor Note #45 — Living in Time, Living with God: Part 1–Introduction

Pastor Note #43 — Blood on the Pew (A day in March 2000)

It was Tuesday noontime.  I had gone into the big, dark Romanesque sanctuary of my church in downtown Columbus, Ohio for a weekly prayer meeting with a handful or so of people, mostly not members of my congregation but rather folks who worked downtown and constituted part of my weekday ancillary congregation. As I sat … Continue reading Pastor Note #43 — Blood on the Pew (A day in March 2000)

Prayer Note #38 — The Voice

Oh, Lord, how I long to be intimately familiar with your voice. Your voice is full of power -- whether you speak with rock-breaking loudness or whether you whisper quietly in my ear.  Your voice is full of soul-transforming power.  Let that powerful voice pierce to the center of my mind, to the core of my … Continue reading Prayer Note #38 — The Voice

Bible Note #16 — By the River Jabbok

The tinkling of sheep bells was the last sound audible to him fading away up the path and over th hill on the other side of the small river.  The crunch of foot and hoof on the sandy gravel of the path had been lost to him fist, washed away by the splash and rush … Continue reading Bible Note #16 — By the River Jabbok

Prayer Note #36 — The Time of my Life

Here I am, Lord.  It's a little before 5:00 A.M., and I've been awake for a half an hour or so, lying in bed, my mind wandering from thought to thought.  I seem to be done sleeping, though the clock tells me that I shouldn't be.  Have you wakened me for some reason?  Or is … Continue reading Prayer Note #36 — The Time of my Life