Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

 A popular song around the time I began listening to Christian music in the spring of 1998 was " Awesome God " by Rich Mullins. He had died a few months before in a tragic car accident, and the more I listened to that song, the more I lamented that the light of his talent was snuffed out too soon. That song is making a resurgence now, but not in a way I like. After years of the chorus alone being used in worship at churches across the country, Phil Wickham wrote new verses for "Awesome God," keeping the refrain intact, and released it under a new title. The problem is, those new verses don't fit either musically or in meaning. The original verses penned by Rich Mullins speak of a God whose power is so impressive that it's hard not to be in awe of it. They also talk of how God has the power to raze sinful cities to the ground, but also had the love and grace to send His son to die for our sins. Throughout each verse, a chorus of voices repeats the phrase ...

 As anyone who regularly reads my blog might have noticed, this is my first post in a while, with my last one being over a year and a half ago. Now it's not that I didn't have ideas of things to write. In fact, I was reminded of two partial posts as I sat down to write this one, and those don't even count my planned analysis of the Lenten scarf pattern I completed last year. I've had ideas for sure, but unfortunately, life got in the way of them coming to fruition. My husband, Jon, spent most of 2024 on medical leave. He was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome in February, and his job wouldn't accommodate the restrictions he needed to work safely. He had surgery in June to implant an internal defibrillator, and he recovered quite nicely. Within a week, he was back to doing DoorDash and making Spark deliveries, with me occasionally tagging along to help. We moved in August into a bigger place with a nice yard for our dogs, and although the rent was a bit of a stretch, we...

 About ten years ago, a friend from high school wrote the book God and the Gay Christian . I eagerly bought it, mainly to support him, but also because I was working on becoming a more affirming Christian, and I thought reading this book would help me along that path. Admittedly, I initially struggled to read it, not because of the subject matter, but because the book's tone didn't match the goofy guy I knew in high school. I resolved to read a chapter at a time until I finally finished it, but after I read the first few chapters, I didn't read it for a long time. Last fall, I finally picked it up again, found the mature tone much easier to read, and finished it in November. Since finishing the book, I've been thinking more about some of the things he brings up, especially the scriptures that are most often referenced when referring to God's view of homosexuality. The more I read those verses, the more I see that what is really being condemned isn't homosexualit...

 "He came out and went, as was his custom , to the Mount of Olives" ~ Luke 22:39, emphasis mine When we think of the power Christ had to prevent His crucifixion, we often think of the army of angels that he had at His command or the power over nature he held. Any one of the people who were responsible for His death could have been smote, scattered, or suddenly thrown into confusion with just one word from His mouth. When passersby mocked Him, they were right in knowing about His power to save others, but wrong in thinking He could not save Himself. A devotion I read Sunday morning caused me to think of another power He had that could have saved Him if He had chosen to use it: the power to choose a hidden spot to pray. The verse quoted above tells us that going to the Mount of Olives to pray was something he did often. According to the author of the devotion, "it was easy for the authorities to find Jesus to arrest him." Another verse says, "Now Judas, who betra...

 "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." ~ John 8:7 As many of you probably know, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl last Sunday. Many of you probably also know that at one point in the game, tight end Travis Kelce was seen shoving and yelling at coach Andy Reid. Many people, Christians included, have said that he should have been benched and fined for that incident, with some even going so far as to say he should be kicked off the team. There was a mass shooting at Wednesday's victory parade. However, Thursday morning, the DJs at the Christian radio station I listened to were more focused on Kelce's comment that he would leave the team if Coach Reid retired, and speculating that he just said that to cover himself after the televised outburst. They didn't even mention the shooting at all. What all of these comments have in common is that they are judging someone harshly for nine seconds of irrationality. Who among us ...

"Those here without the Lord, how do you cope? For this morning we don't mourn like those who have no hope." ~ Newsboys, " Breakfast " "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope" ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Most of the time when I'm asked what my favorite song is, I tend to say the name of whatever song is speaking to me at that time. Christian music is full of so many great songs, and it always seems that another great song is released several times a year. It's almost impossible to choose just one to be an overall favorite, but a few years ago, that's just what I did. That song is the very one quoted above, "Breakfast" by the Newsboys. So what about this song makes it my all-time favorite? Yes, it's incredibly goofy, which some people don't like about it, but it also has some deep theological truth interspersed among all t...