on the walk

I recently discovered a blog that is one of the funniest places I have ever been. But since this blog isn’t usually about funny, I haven’t linked to it. But this blog is also occasionally powerfully and profound.

Here is a recent post on the importance of letting our scars be ugly. I will quote best paragraph but you can follow this link for the whole thing.

Here is the best part:

Have you ever thought about what type of party the father threw the prodigal son in Luke 15?

I didn’t until last night. I didn’t see the implications for you and me until I thought about shining my own scars. But you know what the prodigal son gets when he comes home? A welcome home party. The father doesn’t throw him a “you never left” party. He doesn’t call the servants excitedly to get things ready for the “everything is fine” party. Not at all, he makes a point of saying, “Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’

He says that twice. Once to the servants and once to the older brother. The father got it. The reason to celebrate was not that things were perfect. It was that the son had been lost, voluntarily so, and was now found. He had been willingly dead by leaving but was now alive. The fact that he had blown it, the fact that the son had broken his life was not a source of shame, it was a cause to celebrate. The gross of being lost and dead was part of what made the reality of being found and alive so bright and true and undeniable.

Amen and Amen,

on the walk

-Ethan

Ps. Once you are there, be sure to hang around and explore the funny.

Check out these strong reflections from Micheal Spencer.

Are we putting up unnecessary obstacles to the welcome of Jesus to all people however weary and heavy laden?

on the walk

-Ethan

Here is a bit of what Lewis says on the subject of choosing life. He is unapologetic that living a godly life leads to rewards. The rewards we seek through sin pale in comparison with the good rewards that God desires to give us through the life God offers. (Let us be clear this is not what many popular preaching today says about how God wants to bless us. Notice we are talking here about the good rewards that God desires to give us, not the base rewards like money and comfort that we desires from God. Continue Reading »

Introducing my children to lots of foods is important to my wife and me. We want our kids to be flexible and healthy eaters. Fortunately we have lots of people helping us. Some of our biggest helpers are my niece and nephew Leigh and Lane. My sister-in-law is Korean and so their family has helped us introduce our kids to lots of new foods. My youngest’s favorite food right now is squid. Now I don’t mind squid but he didn’t learn to love squid from me. He learned to love it from his 7 year-old niece.

In fact I often have trouble introducing him to new foods. Recently I found myself trying to convince him to try a new dessert. Continue Reading »

We are four posts in with our tour of tips for spotting heresy. Today we get to one that was already mentioned in an earlier comment: Karma.

Karma is the popular notion that we all get what we deserve. The word comes from Hindu philosophy. In Hindu philosophy, the notion of Karma is a detailed and complicated belief about how the world fundamentally works. But when we encounter the notion of Karma is it usually just a sloppy notion that “what does around comes around.” However just because our notion of karma lacks philosophical sophistication does not mean that it lacks power. And it pops up a lot in conversations and books in a way that convinces me Continue Reading »

Here is a link to a story of some people who found a creative and gospel driven way to be like Christ.  Check it out.

on the walk

-Ethan

This is really an example of the False Promises test, but it is such a common and relatively easy one to spot that I thought I should mention it.

If a book or preacher teaches a worldview or a doctrine that does not call you any sort of sacrifice then it is not biblical. Jesus offers grace as we die to ourselves. He offers us himself as a sacrifice for our forgiveness and calls us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice as an act of worship to him.

So if you are reading something that teaches you how to get, and get, and get some more and never calls you to sacrifce, well then it may seem like good advice, and you may want to follow it, but don’t pretend it is Christian.

on the walk

-Ethan

The promises of Christ are wonderful. In fact they are so wonderful that I often fall short of fully comprehending his great promises for my good. But nevertheless they are not always what I wished he would promise.

For instance Jesus makes this promise in Matthew 10:18-20,

On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Now that is an amazing promise, but it isn’t exactly the promise I would have asked for. I might have preferred this promise, “Don’t worry, they won’t arrest you” or maybe, “Don’t worry about what to say, just pass out fliers.” Continue Reading »

The Internet monk recently posted a challenge post on disappointment with God. He reflects on the reality that we often in our head imagine unrealistic deals with God. (ie. If I serve God faithfully my family will not get sick.) It is a long post but it is worth it if you are struggling to understand where God is in you life.

Here it is.

on the walk

-Ethan

I have been asked to review several secular books lately by well-meaning and sincere Christians who are wondering if the book is consistent with Christian teaching. Even more troubling, I occasionally have godly people recommended books to me that are in many ways significantly opposed to scripture. This has demonstrated to me that many Christians lack skills of discernment to distinguish truth from error. Certainly the most important way to develop such skills is through frequent biblical study in the context of a wise Christian community. However there are some particular questions that form an arsenal of sorts to help Christians confidently asses most texts. I hope to explore these issues in a series of posts. Perhaps these ideas will help you read with more wisdom. Continue Reading »