BCNE News
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Dream bigger
"How could we bless you?"
He looked at me intently as I gathered the courage to reply: "I'd love to go to seminary."
"Done," he said. "You should have dreamed bigger."
Let me tell you, friends—those are some haunting words.
The cocoon or the cross
“We cultivate indifference as a cocoon.” These words from James K.A. Smiths’ book “On the Road with St Augustine” leapt off the page and landed so viscerally that I let out a gasp, closing both the book and my eyes under the piercing accuracy of this one weighty sentence. Regardless of the rest of Smith’s book, this sentence had my attention. My pastor often says that “the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.” I wholeheartedly agree. I see this insidiousness go undetected within myself, and I see it applauded in the world around me, masquerading synonymously as the secular virtue of tolerance.
The birds of the air and the hope of your heart
As I sat down to write this article, I looked at the computer for a few moments and wondered how to start. I typed a few words, hit backspace, then tried again.
Writer’s block is part of life. Whether you are writing a paper for school or a report for work, there are often times where you stare at the computer screen and feel as if your mind is stuck in quicksand. Though our minds might struggle to find words to write, our minds rarely struggle to muster things to worry about.
The wonder of the incarnation
My favorite Christmas movie is Elf. It might just be my favorite movie period, the only one I can watch over and over. Something about Buddy’s “affinity for elf culture” though he is a human, as well as his innocent unawareness of the fact that he sticks out like...well, like a grown man in an elf hat and yellow tights among the working professionals of New York City, is just so endearing. If you’ve seen the movie, you know that Buddy doesn’t realize he’s a human, though nothing about the miniature elf world he’s grown up in suits him. It isn’t until falling behind in his toy production that he overhears a couple of elves whispering about him: “Well, if he hasn’t figured out he’s a human by now, I don't think he ever will.”
Many happy returns!
There are many things that I love about being a Christian. The forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting have always been my favorites, but lately I have grown to truly appreciate the blessing of the “happy return.” That is, after I have gone astray, wandering into all kinds of worthless distractions and selfish indulgences, I then come to my senses and long to return to God. The Gospel gives me the great assurance that I can get up quickly and return happily to my heavenly Father. I don’t even need to grovel or slink back under cover of night.
Eating my own crow
Most secular people don’t leave a job for a pay cut – especially a pay cut that totaled 64% of your previous total salary. But when God makes it clear that moving forward with such a large pay cut is the next step, you do it.
What’s the refrain of your life?
Have you ever been in front of the congregation during singing? If you have, then you know that in most songs the congregation loves to sing the refrain. In fact, very often the congregation struggles or mumbles through the verses of a song, and then, upon reaching the chorus, they wake up and sing with renewed gusto.
Voices
When is it that we begin listening to what the world says about us? The world tell us that in order to be happy or “good enough,” we need to look a certain way, dress a certain way, or attend a particular school. Our mindset can quickly change from remembering and receiving that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, to thinking we are just not enough. What is it that we truly see of ourselves when we look in the mirror or listen to that inner voice? Do we see the warrior with the full armor of God and the fruit of the Spirit? If you are honest, your answer is probably “not always.” How is it that we, as children of the King, can get discouraged, and doubt our gifting and our worth?