Grace Eye for the Legalistic Guy

Meet Pastor Joe. He’s a flaming legalist who is need of a complete makeover. His wardrobe consists of religious rags that he bought somewhere years ago while he was still in seminary. The sad thing is that he thinks they’re still stylish. Somebody needs to...

Don’t Grow Up

Growing older isn’t really a choice we can make, given our options. However, growing older and growing up are two different matters altogether. When we were children or perhaps later, when we acted like irresponsible teens, we were all admonished at times to...

The Hidden Voice

Jimmy Buffet ministered to me last week. I’m not kidding, it’s true. While I was already familiar with and enjoyed some of his songs, I’ve never even owned a Jimmy Buffet album. On a trip with some friends who had brought along one of his albums,...

Being Lord of the Ring

When the movie Lord of The Rings: Return of the King opens, it begins with Smeagol and his cousin, Deagol, fishing together. Deagol is pulled into the lake by a big fish he snags and as he is pulled across the bottom he discovers “the ring.” The attraction...

Christ the Anchor

A few years ago Melanie and I were sailing alone when we came to a small island where we wanted to spend the night. Normally we would pick up a mooring ball, where we would tie off our boat to secure it for the night. These mooring balls are set in concrete which are...

Disappointment

Dr. Lenore Campbell wrote, “Early in my career as a doctor I went to see a patient who was coming out of anesthesia. Far off church chimes sounded and the patient murmured, ‘I must be in heaven.’ Then she saw me. ‘No, I can’t be,’...