Random Works Of Randomness

“We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts. How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community) Here’s a convicting question that has slapped me in the face a time or two: if you woke up tomorrow…

“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God; to feed the mind with the truth of God; to purge the imagination by the beauty of God; to open the heart to the love of God; to devote the will to the purpose of God” (William Temple). My absolute favorite definition of worship is still the one by Louie Giglio. Worship is giving God His breath back. The more I think about that one,…

This one is from back in the day . . . and I mean BACK in the day: “Whate’er my God ordains is right:His holy will abideth;I will be still whate’er He doth;And follow where He guideth;He is my God; though dark my road,He holds me that I shall not fall:Wherefore to Him I leave it all. Whate’er my God ordains is right:He never will deceive me;He leads me by the proper path:I know He will not…

“Turn your eyes upon JesusLook full, in his wonderful faceAnd the things of earth will grow strangely dimIn the light of his glory and grace” (Helen Howarth Lemmel) I know, I know. Trust me. It’s not a repeat. I just keep thinking of new ideas to write about based off of this classic hymn. Have you ever noticed that if you start thinking about a certain type of car, you start seeing them…

“Turn your eyes upon JesusLook full, in his wonderful faceAnd the things of earth will grow strangely dimIn the light of his glory and grace” (Helen Howarth Lemmel) For some reason, this hymn popped into my head out of nowhere today. What particularly stood out to me was the line about how the things of earth growing strangely dim. That’s a great way of putting it. When I take photos with a…

“The deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able honestly to pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done” (Elisabeth Elliot). If anyone knew about deep spiritual lessons, it was Elisabeth Elliot. She was twice widowed and her life was never an easy one from…

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing” (1 Thes. 5:11, NLT). That’s what we need. More encouragement. Lately, there’s been too much division and bickering, especially on social media. Too many people think it’s their God-given duty to correct everyone else about everything else. Too many are pointing fingers at others while ignoring their own faults and…

“Outside the will of God, there’s nothing I want. Inside the will of God, there’s nothing I fear” (A. W. Tozer). A. W. Tozer nailed it. Outside of the will of God, there’s nothing I want. What could I possibly gain that would be worth losing my soul in the process? What could be worth sacrificing a relationship with the One who created me and who knows me best? I’m not saying I could lose my…

“For several centuries, a village was known for its exquisite and fragile porcelain. Especially striking were its urns, which were as high as tables and as wide as chairs. They were admired around the globe for their strong form and delicate beauty. Legend has it that when each urn was finished, there was one final step. The artist broke it and then put it back together with gold filigree. An…

“It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved;…

Admit it. You didn’t just read those words. You sang them. I know I did (at least in my head). But can anyone pinch me because when did June get here and where did April and May go? In less than three weeks, we’ll hit the day with the most daylight in it (which also happens to be the official first day of summer). After that, the countdown to Christmas is on. Well, at least for me it is. Most of…

The main campus of my church hosted a hymn night. It was better than advertised and even better than I thought it would be going in. Of course, they sang all the classic hymns that I loved growing up and a few newer ones (including a couple that I wasn’t familiar with before tonight). The highlight was when they brought out Bill Gaither to talk about one of the songs his wife had written back in…

“Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing—it makes no difference. It means we have no choice in what we want to do, but that whatever God’s plans may be, we are there and ready” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest). Many of us miss God’s call because we’re waiting for the big assignment or the earth-shaking reveal when God is calling us…

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.Watch your words, for they become actions.Watch your actions, for they become habits.Watch your habits, for they become character.Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” (Frank Outlaw) The problem with a lot of modern Christianity, particularly the American variety, is that most people think that you automatically drift toward holiness…

That’s pretty much where we are, folks. I get that we had to give up meeting corporately during the pandemic because of health concerns. But here we are in 2026, and there is almost no excuse not to gather together weekly for worship. If your immune system is compromised, I get staying home for virtual service, but I believe that we as believers should make every effort to gather together in…

This is another pre-Wordpress post. I believe I wrote this as a Facebook note (remember those?) back in 2010: I think one of the reasons that community is so important is that it enlarges our view of God. I like to think that each of us carry puzzle pieces of what God is like. Each has a few pieces that reveal a limited aspect of God. When you get to know me, you add more pieces to your puzzle…

“DURING HARD TIMES REMEMBER: The soil is always richer in the valley.” As much as I would really like to spend the rest of my life going from one mountaintop experience to the next, I know that’s not how it works. That’s not how you grow spiritually. Even if you could somehow manage to live your faith solely based on ecstatic experiences and emotional highs, you’re still going to end up as a…