An Inconvenient Christianity

Happy new year!! Yes, I know it's almost May, but this is my first blog post of the year and I thought it was appropriate to greet you all properly. Anyway, I have been meaning to write. So much has happened and so much needs to be said, but I have been putting it off. Not sure why exactly. Perhaps, I have just been fighting against the inevitable. Actually, that is exactly the reason. James Weldon Johnson has a poem called,  Prodigal Son , where the speaker proclaims that the subject's arms are too short to box with God. That's me. Desperately trying to spar with the Creator, but my arms are too short. The end result? No punches have landed, I'm fighting the air...and I'm tired. God's sovereign will is a heckuva thing to come against. So why do we try? I wish I had an answer for that. Something about the human will seeks to exalt itself. It began happening in the Garden of Eden and has been occurring ever since. Oh yeah, we sing songs like, "...

**This blog is about the election in an indirect way** So let me tell you all what has been going on. Recently, my pastor has been has been preaching a series on holiness. His emphasis has not been on physical holiness and purity so much as spiritual holiness and the way we (as Christians) treat one another. Reconciliation was the buzz word. You see, as Christians, we are obliged to forgive those who have wronged us. The so-called Lord's Prayer actually makes the Father's forgiveness of us contingent on our ability and willingness to forgive others. Across the board, I am unlikely to be met with any opposition about the Christian's duty to forgive. However, when it comes to reconciliation? That is another story. Indeed, a lot of the rhetoric our there in Christendom surrounds forgiving, but not forgetting (read: forgiveness without reconciliation). But how can we name the name of Christ and refuse to be reconciled? That was the point of my pastor's sermon series...

Yes, that "The Walking Dead." I am OBSESSED with that show . The season 7 premiere was so nerve-wracking and hard to watch (in a good way) that my chest hurt for a full hour even after the show had ended. (We can argue via email about whether a Christian should watch shows like that. I welcome your opinions.) For those of you unfamiliar the show, it is set in a post-apocalyptic world after a viral pandemic which causes the dead not to stay dead. So zombies roam the earth trying to eat living human flesh. The show tracks a group of survivors and their efforts to survive in this new reality. But by now, I'm sure you have guessed that this blog post will not be about the show. Not really. A very wise friend of mine on Facebook posted something yesterday that got my mental juices flowing. Here is my train of thought: According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, in Christ we are new creatures; the old has gone and the new has come. In other words, our sin nature has died. And ...

This post is not about Donald J. Trump. I mean, it is, but it isn't. I just feel compelled to address something that I find deeply disturbing. Dr. James MacDonald touches on it  here , but there is a nuance that I want to discuss from an inconvenient standpoint. On Friday, October 7th, the world was made privy to a private conversation that Trump had with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush. I will not provide a link the the video because it is disgusting and does not need to be accessed from my blog. Suffice it to say, the statements and claims about reprehensible and illegal conduct made by Trump were truly appalling. But he made those statements 11 years ago... He might be a different man today. Who knows? None of us knows his true heart. Only God knows that. So is it fair to judge him by his comments from 11 years ago? *Please note: For the purposes of this blog, I am addressing his comments in the Access Hollywood video only. I am creating an artificial vacuum to make a p...

Hello out there! It has been a little while. Many things have happened and I will post about them shortly, but this post was compelled by something I saw on Sunday evening. I am a HUGE fan of the Game of Thrones series on HBO. I have read the books by George R.R. Martin and am (im)patiently awaiting book 6 (Mr. Martin, if by some miracle you are reading this....please, please, please hurry. Kthxbye!). I waited until now to post this to avoid spoiling the show for those who were not able to watch on Sunday evening. That said....... **********************************SPOILER ALERT******************************** In this latest episode, we not only get the explanation of how the character called Hodor (real name: Willis) got this nickname, but we also watch him give his life for Bran Stark, his charge. Without explaining too much of the plot, Bran recklessly summons an evil undead hoard and has to be taken to safety (since he cannot walk). By the end of the episode, the only thi...

Last night, America, if not the entire world, paused to watch Kobe Bryant 's last game. Tickets to see the much anticipated event commanding record sums. One report I read had the "cheap" seats in the nosebleed section for $685.00 per person. In some ways, last night's game was the millennials' version of the OJ Simspon verdict or the shooting of JFK. For years to come, people will talk about where they were and what they were doing when the Black Mamba played his last professional basketball game. And play he did. His stats were on fire. Not only did he lead his team to victory one last time, but he did so by putting up 60 points on his own. Not to mention his assists and rebounds. It was a thing of beauty to behold. And bittersweet because it is the end of an era. Amidst the postgame celebrations and heraldry, I began to think of the spiritual implications. Like the Apostle Paul, Kobe fought the good fight and finished his course. And like Paul, he r...

So now seems as good a time as any to tell you all that I am totally and completely in love with the most amazing man that I have ever met...other than my dear sweet daddy. I cannot even begin to describe him. He is everything that I have always prayed for a husband to be...and he loves me. For me. Exactly as I am. Unbelievable and unbeatable. But before you start wondering about church bells and wedding dates, it occurred to me the other day that I might truly be called to singleness. The scripture is clear on a single woman's dedication to ministry (see 1 Corinthians 7). I am nearing 40 at an alarming rate and have never been married and never had children. Marriage to this wonderful, amazing man might just be what God has planned for me, but what if it isn't? I've been thinking long and hard about how I would react if the Lord asked me to walk away from this relationship and serve Him undistracted. My mind keeps landing on the story of Abraham. God promised Abram (...