Building bridges where history builds walls.
This morning I preached a great sermon. I preached one as good or better last week. And I have done a lot of them in the past six months. But increasingly, I am not satisfied. Telling you why this is so is important not just to me but to you. So give a listen. By […]
Yesterday, as dusk approached, I went for a walk with God in the fading California sunshine. We talked about one of his oldest friends: Abraham, whom the Bible calls “the father of us all,” not genetically mind you, but spiritually. Those of us who follow the call of the God of Abraham will find ourselves […]
A question for you. Do you know anyone who believes our country is becoming more unified? Neither do I! And we’re not alone! At the time of the 2018 mid-term elections, three out of four voters polled reported our country is becoming more divided (see https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/13/politics/2018-exit-polls/index.html). And this year, a Pew Center study reported […]
“Listen to me, you pursuers of justice, you who seek ADONAI: consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Avraham your father and Sarah, who gave birth to you; in that I called him when he was only one person, then blessed him and made him many. For […]
Recently I did what I do every Wednesday night: I taught a Bible Study, this one, on passages from Luke 7-10. This morning as I woke up, I realized that not only do two of those passage have interesting applications to how we regard and treat those with whom we differ, they also have direct […]
Last Passover I began a series responding to five questions imbedded in a readers response to a video I had posted. You may see that video here: The five questions were as follows. My Apparent Prioritization of Outreach – That was really interesting. Can you unpack for me why you think Messianic Judaism is by […]
For lots of folks, avoiding problems is their main coping strategy. In fact, for many, life is all about avoidance: avoiding certain people, avoding certain subjects, avoiding thinking about how things are going, avoiding thinking of family issues. You name it, and we avoid it. But is this a good way to maneuver through life? […]
I have spent most of my life depressed to one degree or another. As a shrink said to me when we began talking decades ago, he found that the most predominant thing about me was a pervasive sense of dread. Yuck. Well, the battle continues. Like a persistent rash or limp, I live with depression […]
This continues a series of blogs originating in a response to a Red Door Diary video I posted where I highlighted (and lamented) the Messianic Jewish Movement’s general failure to attract other Jews to Yeshua-faith. That video may be found HERE–> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ5FmR7mUlQ&t=28s This current blog is my response to the third of five alternative issues raised […]
This post is the second in a series related to a comment responding to a Facebook video, one of my Red Door Diaries, where I highlighted the Messianic Jewish Movement’s general failure to attract other Jews to Yeshua-faith. In my previous blog I responded to the first section of her response. Today, I respond to […]