Contemplating Grace

Life Notes—February 24, 2011 “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”  1 Corinthians 4:5a  In third grade, my friend’s house (I’ll call him Luke) was between school and my home, so … Continue reading Harsh Judgments

Life Notes—February 17, 2011 “Do not deceive yourselves.  If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.  For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’, and again, ‘The Lord knows the … Continue reading The Foolishness of Christ

Life Notes—February 10, 2011 “And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.  Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh.  For so long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are … Continue reading To Be or Not To Be (of the flesh)

Life Notes—February 3, 2011 “You are the light of the world.  A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, … Continue reading Letting Your Light Shine

Life Notes—January 27, 2011 “…what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  Micah 6:8b  There are about 2500 pages in my New Oxford Annotated Study Bible.  The prophet Micah was allotted nine of those pages, a fraction of 1% of the … Continue reading Simply Awesomely Simple

Life Notes—January 20, 2011 “Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day…because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”  II Corinthians 4:16, 18  Regular readers … Continue reading Seeing Inside Out

Life Notes—January 13, 2011 “’Can a blind person guide a blind person?  Will not both fall into a pit?…Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?...You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to … Continue reading Blame Me for Tucson

Life Notes—January 6, 2011 “…Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor...”  Luke 18:24  “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you…”  Luke14:13-14 I have known Joe longer than any other friend.  Our … Continue reading Living the Gospel

Life Notes—December 30, 2010 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1 Advent is over and the baby has been born.  So what now?  Perhaps we begin with a reassessment of what Advent is really about.  Sure, it is a time of preparation, a time to prepare … Continue reading Baby Steps

Life Notes—December 23, 2010 “The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great…’”  Luke 1:31-32a  The past four weeks I have focused on the four … Continue reading Immaculate Perception