Tried With Fire

A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. Isaiah 42:3 Bruised reeds aren't cool. They aren't tough and strong. They are often needy and require reassurance, support, and a listening ear. They take time. But they give something, too. They give a reason for many of the "one anothers" in the Bible. If everyone had it all together, would we need patience and compassion? How would we learn listening first and talking second if no one had any emotional needs? And what about being stretched in our love for others? How many verses would be unnecessary if we could meet the fictitious expectations of the ideal Christian life that are floating out there? And there are plenty of them. As I write this, I also hear a voice (not audible) in the back of my head saying, "But what about people taking advantage?" But there is a difference between coddling and compassion. Throwing a bruised...

When I read Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert , I was moved by Rosaria Butterfield's conversion story, but I also fell in love with Ken and Floy Smith. If there ever was an example of friendship evangelism, this is it. This Presbyterian pastor and his wife became Rosaria's friends. They were honest with her about their faith and where they disagreed with her, but they loved her. They debated, but they didn't bully or pressure her into believing. They didn't pull a Charles Finney and manipulate her emotions through fear-mongering. The Smiths saw her as another human being made in God's image, not just a project. They believed it was the Holy Spirit who did the saving, not them, and he did. As I considered their example, it struck me how opposite they were from the cage-stage. If you have never heard the term, it's a period of intense enthusiasm over the newly discovered Five Points of Calvinism that may result in tactless and even ungracious behavior (iron...

Listening is one of those things we take for granted and think we do well. But it's more than taking in speech through our ears. The point may not even be fixing a problem that is being presented. It's actually a setting aside of one's self and taking the time to be there for another person. 1 When I realized I needed to see a counselor several years ago, I assumed that she would tell me what to do, but she didn't. She gave me a safe and neutral space to unburden things I have never told another soul. She really didn't give much advice at all, but the blessing of having someone who actually listened to me and didn't offer platitudes or advice off the cuff enabled me to see my way more clearly than before. Having a listening ear was important when working through my issues, but I think it is a basic human need. But to listen well requires patience which seems to be a lost virtue. Given our consumer mindset, we can tailor our lives to cater to our interests ...

When I look back over my life, there have been unanticipated events and unexpected turns from the smooth path that I thought was before me. I am a very different person than when I began adulting with the most drastic changes occurring in the last 10 years. I've been a Christian for most of my life, but my theology has changed. My view of God has grown for the better, I trust, and my view of humanity too. We are much more complicated than I had previously thought. We aren't just what we think but how we love. We aren't just a set of correct beliefs or a brain with two legs, but embodied souls that are mysteries to us but fully known by God. We are his workmanship, and he is fully capable of bringing us to where we need to be in the right time and in the right way. (Eph. 2:10, Phil. 1:6) Then shouldn't we be patient with one another? There was no way I could predict how I would change over years. God moved in mysterious ways through difficult circumstances, but he ne...

It's my turn again at Out of the Ordinary: You may be wondering why I chose this post title. The King James version of James 5:11 commends Job's patience, not his friends'. But that's the point. Job's friends weren't very patient, were they? To their credit, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar started out well. When they heard of their friend's tragic loss, they joined him in his grief and sat silently in the dust for a week. (Job 2:11-13) But when the week was over, they opened their mouths and inserted their feet. I don't think they wanted to add to Job's wounds with their words. I'm sure they wanted to help him out of his distress by offering the best advice they could, but they made things worse. Now it's easy to criticize Job's friends, but I don't know if I would have done any better.  Read the rest of the post here. ..

My friend, Becky, has written a thought-provoking post  regarding our phobias to certain words like religion , contemplate , and meditate , to name a few.  These words have been wrested from their original meaning, in some cases, and have become part of the vocabulary of questionable teaching. But rather than making a point to use them correctly, their usage or lack of can become a litmus test for a person's theology. This post hit a nerve, because l freely admit to strong gut reactions with certain words and phrases. Words have power and consequences, and my reception to them is anything but neutral. I  bring my own assumptions as to why the writer/speaker would use a certain word. I also bring a boatload of associations based on past experiences, even if I desire to respond based on what the Word says alone. So what to do?  How do I disarm the gut reaction? Here are few things that came to mind: - Make the point of digging a little deeper to fi...