The James passage describes wisdom as a gift. To me that rings true because I know the difference between the limitations of my own understanding and the insight and discernment that come into play when the Spirit of God is involved.
Tag: God
Ten compelling reasons to go to church
if you're one of those folk who doesn't show up very often - if at all - I'd like you to consider the following ten thoughts about showing up at a place of public worship.
leaning in to God on a rainy Saturday
It's a good day for nurturing relationships. It's a good day to hunker down with God. It's a good day to lean in. - DEREK
faith is more than a hedge against disaster – it’s an invitation to live!
Tuesday Truth: This morning I read a meditation based on Psalm 199:114: "You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope." The writer made the good point that, when we run into trouble, it helps to already know scripture so God's Spirit can bring to mind what we have learned. The devotion …
Continue reading faith is more than a hedge against disaster – it’s an invitation to live!
three questions you MUST ask before you vote
Politics, leadership, and today's primary elections: So here's my challenge: I don't want to ignore today's primary elections - especially in two states I love so much (North Carolina and Florida) - but at the same time I don't want to violate my "prime directive" as a writer, which is to honor the following counsel from …
Continue reading three questions you MUST ask before you vote
smart enough to not know everything
So the idea behind these three photographs is a reminder that even inspired creativity requires careful preparation, research, humility, and hard work to pull off.
DNA, life, and our eternal coding
The other day I spent some time updating my "profile" on some site that carries my work. It's hard to keep everything current, and I noticed this particular bio still featured our residency as Florida, Andrew and Alicia as living in Italy, Naomi and Craig in Connecticut, and no sign of my latest book, Pilgrim in Progress. My …
God’s Spirit Poured Out
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to …
hope, and the beginning of Advent
Today I have a simple message for this space. The meme is the scripture I used in yesterday's post ("When the message of Jesus gets loose"), pasted onto the photo I captured heading in to my Saturday morning men's Bible study. The scripture is clear. Too many people live in darkness, and in the shadow of …
What is “good”? What is “right”?
In the aftermath of Paris there is a lot of talk about human behavior, and I'm concerned that many of these terms seem to represent moving targets, and that the way we respond to horrific events often only serves to muddy the waters, and what we really mean when we say "right," and "wrong" is often more rooted in self interest than it is something universal, or true.
Derek Maul: Words and Photographs for the Journey 