God: Mystery or Certainty?

Tim Riter November 24, 2014

Our perception of God drives our connection with him. View him as legalistic, and rules and fear of failing will consume us. View him as gracious, and we may take advantage and miss obedience. View him as distant, and we never discover intimacy. That principle of perception motivated a search lasting several years, attempting to determine how he can be personal and immediate and simultaneously present in every cubic centimeter of the universe. Was he just a spirit? A force? An expanded body that combined the physical and spiritual?

Why Worship Together?

Tim Riter November 17, 2014

Last week’s post attracted a lot of interest, but the topic has another level. Then, we explored why we worship—it’s the best antidote to self-centeredness. Some of my most glorious worship occurs in the mountains. Immersed in the beauty of the world that God created, away from the overpowering touch of man, my ego shrinks as I get lost in God’s transcendence. Those magnificent Sierra vistas shout out the grandeur of God.

But worship exceeds that half hour of singing at church, the hour plus of the “worship service.” Worship is life. Yet here is where we can easily miss a key aspect of worship

Jesus Freaks for Today?

Tim Riter November 3, 2014

Surveys repeat the findings: people are intrigued with Jesus, but not so much with either his followers or his church. They view us as judgmental, legalistic, reactionary: that we want to impose our morality on them.

That’s not unlike the 60s, an often inflexible church unwilling to adapt to a changing world. I understand that—the era experienced an explosion of sexual immorality and drug use and overall moral relativism. The church continued medieval hymns as rock and roll took over the culture.

Yet in that milieu, the Jesus Movement erupted...

Worshipping Worship: the Ultimate Adultery

Tim Riter October 13, 2014

Thoughts take intriguing turns. A Facebook friend and fellow writer, Steve Hutson, posted an article that critiqued much of modern worship. The resulting discussion motivated me to further explore worship, which takes last week’s Unconventional post in a related direction. If we are to follow Jesus, that we worship and how we worship will drive the depth of our faith.

At its core, worship celebrates the reality that God has more innate worth than anything we can find in heaven or earth. Our English word comes from “worthyship,” so in worship by definition we focus on him. Get that well, it forms the foundation of all that will follow.

But God...

Tim Riter October 6, 2014

Preferring to understand the big picture, I embarked on a mission to comprehend God, vainly hoping the more I understood him and his nature and his essence, the better I could follow. Easier for an ant to assess Einstein. Unable to grasp the core of God in the vast distance between our natures, I drifted—until I yielded on the attempt.

But one truth came clear—the alienness of God.

In His Image?

Tim Riter September 29, 2014

One lady from our high school graduating class developed a Facebook page for us, which introduced me to Roland Peachie. This previously unknown classmate from decades back creates marvelous images with photographs. He posted the above pic (dare I call it just a pic?) with these words, “…the new adapter came in today, not only infinity has been fixed (I’d never realized someone broke it) but my Macro is now about 6 feet closer, which I really like.. test shots show even a different background blur with the new adapter.”

Must have been Latin he was speaking, I understood very little of it. But I did get the passion to create and replied...

A Tale of Two Cats

Tim Riter September 22, 2014

After providing a home and family to too many felines during our marriage, I can’t say we were happy when our last cat passed, but we did decide to enjoy being full empty nesters.

Six months later, our visiting grandchildren brought in a visiting, just weaned kitten. Adamantly, Sheila agreed to keep it just overnight to find the owners, and she would put up “Lost Cat” signs the next day while I worked. Heading home with no signs in sight, I found him curled up on her lap, purring. “If they want him, they can put up the signs” was her response to my raised eyebrows.

We called him Sandy for the color of his coat, but Lover Boy fit him more.

A Balancing Act

Tim Riter September 8, 2014

In the quiet before official worship began today, I intentionally opened my Bible to Psalms, randomly to 86. As a poet (no poems today, sorry!) I appreciated the variety of structures that enhanced the meaning. But verse 8 touched my soul on two requirements of growing in Christ. Both flow from how I see our typical and fallen human nature. Guess that makes sense, since God made us and best knows how we operate.

The first prayer by David to God is ...

Unconventional

Old Faith, New Following