Present Right Now

It has become a painful and disturbing routine for our country to almost monthly enter into a week of mourning for some sort of violent attack, at home or abroad. This past weekend we felt the shock of a peaceful demonstration in Dallas turn violent. We felt the fear and confusion of witnesses from the many videos of the attack posted online. We felt the immense grief of families in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas who have now personally lost someone to gun violence. And we all continue to feel the disillusionment and uncertainty as to how we should move forward to stop such hatred and violence from becoming normal headlines. Can't We Be Better? As I have waded through these emotions over the weekend and attempted to sort out in my mind how we can overcome these problems as a society, the Spirit kept bringing me back to how deep and irreparable our depravity is. The dialogues that continue at the popular level all point to an underlying expectation that there is an answer to...

The Apostle John "The Bible is not written to you; it is written for you."                                                                     -CL Mitchell What I have often noticed about memorable quotes is how simple they seem at first, yet how profound they become as they settle into my mind a bit. This essential principle concerning biblical interpretation, uttered by one of my favorite teachers during my undergrad years, has helped solidify in my mind the appropriate way to view the Scriptures. Granted, there was much more strenuous classroom learning that contributed to my growth in understanding the Bible (doubly strenuous considering I failed my first attempt at Mitchell's class, humbling me enough to become more seriously engaged to do well the second time), but the Spirit has used this quote often i...