“If we lived in a state where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us saintly. But since we see that abhorrence, anger, pride and stupidity commonly profit far beyond charity, modesty, justice and thought, perhaps we must stand fast a little—even at the risk of being heroes.” —Sir Thomas More, from the play, A ..read more

I wish you could have known this man. I met him when I was fifteen years old and suicidal, and minutes later, everything in my life changed. Five years before I was a ten-year-old avowed atheist living with my parents in Sacramento, California. I had a passion for nature and the outdoors—an aspiring forest ranger in search of a scouting troop. It was then when my friend Mickey showed up at school wearing an impressive Boy Scout uniform. This is it, I thought, and was determined to join whatever he was into. Except it wasn’t the Boy Scouts—it was something called ‘Royal Rangers’—a church-sponso ..read more

“Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD [I Am, I Am], the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to [the thousandth generation], and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin…’ ” (Exodus 34:5-7) What is God like? God’s declaration of His ‘Name’ to Moses was His revelation of who He really is. God is as God does, the ancient Jews used to say. Moses wanted to see God, so God told Moses what He does—and that’s w ..read more

God said to Abram, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3) It must be said, and loudly. Antisemitism is a cancer on humanity that, unfortunately, will persist until the Messiah returns to set things right. Even so it must be repudiated with every thought, resisted with every muscle. The eradication of the Jewish people from the earth, mu ..read more

(A bit of wisdom from my dear friend Ken Needham) “While the surgeons and most of the nursing staff were excellent, there were a couple of exceptions—people who had some knowledge and experience who “knew what was best for me” but were not listening to me. It is MY body. I have inhabited it all my life and I know it well. Their intentions were no doubt good but listening to them worsened rather than improved the situation. This started me thinking about the Body of Christ, the church. There are those who “know what to do”. They are trained, they have experience—but they are not listening to Hi ..read more

EWtW will be released later this year. Check out the official website here. Can’t wait ..read more

He would have been 120 years old today, but when he passed in 1973, J.R.R. Tolkien was just getting started. I think he would tell us that Heaven is a far nicer place than earth—or Middle Earth. Of all the quotes I’ve ever collected (aside from Scripture) the one that rang most personal came from him. If you’re an artist or writer, it rings ever truer. Enjoy. “The Gospels contain a ‘fairy-story’, or a story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy stories. They contain many marvels—peculiarly artistic, beautiful and moving: ‘mythical’ in their perfect, self-contained significa ..read more

“The incarnation of God is an infinitely greater thing than anything I would dare to write…” —J.R.R. Tolkien, Letters, 237 (italics in the original) Imagine eternity. Imagine infinity—imagine absolute life and infinite power, with no beginning and no end. Imagine infinite size and mind, boundless knowledge, unapproachable holiness in both being and motive—perfection beyond anything anyone ever dreamt—ultimate power to create and destroy with utter absence of malice entwined with supreme, omniscient Justice. Such power—such absolute personhood—holy and just, vast and unstoppable—light so bril ..read more

“The proper study of the Christian is God. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy which can engage the attention of a child of God is the Name, the Nature, the Person, the Doings, and the existence of the great God we call “Father”. It is a subject so vast that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep that our pride is drown in its infinity. Other subjects we can comprehend and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-contentment and go our way with the thought, “Behold, I am wise!” But when we come to this master science, finding that our plumb ..read more

What can we say to God in the face of the horrors of the Holocaust? Let’s pray... Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world, Which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, And within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; And say, Amen. May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, Extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One; Blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, Praises and consolations that ..read more