Passionately Pursuing Worship

Tim Riter April 27, 2015

Forget Judge Judy—even though reports claim she’s the highest paid woman on television. Forget Judge Wapner—even though he was the first TV judge on the old “People’s Court.” Why? Put me in a worship service, and my church seat miraculously transforms itself into a judge’s bench. Just replace Judge Judy’s pic above with mine, and you get the idea. Well, skip the best paid and the gender, but you get the picture.

I judge the music—is it loud and strong enough, too loud, or too hymn-like?

Total

Tim Riter April 20, 2015

Our pastor has embarked on preaching through the entire book of Matthew. Usually, he handles a chapter at a time, hinting at over half a year just on this one admittedly fine book. But today he examined only six verses of chapter six, covering just one topic in the Sermon on the Mount. At that rate, the century may end before we complete Matthew! But that’s OK, it’s God’s word.That projection intrigued me, so while he preached...

A Passionate Pursuit--2

Tim Riter March 23, 2015

Near death experiences fascinate us. Whether it’s the recent books and movies Heaven is for Real or the earlier 90 Minutes in Heaven, we yearn for evidence for eternal life. Although the Bible says that, we often want more. But. Consider with me that we may short change the essence of eternal life.

A Passionate Pursuit--1

Tim Riter February 22, 2015

Let’s begin a regular, continuing topic, OK? Once a month we’ll explore how much value God has, or doesn’t have, in our lives. Who is he? What’s he like? What does a connection with him look like? How can we craft that? I’m convinced that we need to identify those questions because our view of God, or the lack of it, will shape our lives. So this first post will start the process with two positions that represent the ends of the spiritual spectrum. Several years ago, a woman walked into Haagen-Dazs, and noticed Paul Newman...

Dancing with the Devil

Tim Riter February 16, 2015

For too long, I justified myself with the excuse that dancing with the devil was justifiable if I didn’t slow dance. I’d edge as close to overt sin as I could without stepping over the line. Close enough to get some pleasure, but not too close to get trapped, to have guilt overwhelm the good times. In high school days, how much physical contact with girls was acceptable before it became sin? That became more subtle as an adult, how much information could I withhold, without actually lying, to give myself an advantage? Or, while remaining a nice guy, what balance should I strike between serving others and using others to serve myself? These are just a few of all those cases I could list.

That was fast dancing with the devil.

Habituated

Tim Riter February 6, 2015

No, this may not qualify as unusual, but my email account got hacked. A friend forwarded an email he had received “from me,” with a link that obviously wasn’t from me. So, I changed the password that I’d kept for a dozen years, with just a few minor, rememberable tweaks, into a longer more exceptional one.

So, for the last two weeks, 90% of the times I sign in to my email...

Heaven Tickets?

Tim Riter January 19, 2015

What’s the admission ticket to heaven? Do all get one, or just a select few? How do you obtain one of these, if you so desire? What if you don’t desire heaven as a destination? That issue has thrust itself into the conversation, with books like Rob Bell’s Love Wins, and a recent article on universalism by Ron Corson.

Bell and Corson and others suggest that in the end, all go to heaven. This short page can’t examine that issue in depth, but I do want to explore a foundational issue that we need to grasp before we reach a conclusion. Following Jesus...

Gold Medals

Tim Riter December 29, 2014

Exceptionally low self-worth plagued my early years. In elementary school, life lost so much joy I also lost laughter for several months. In high school, primarily only the permanence of suicide kept that from being tried. In college, I learned how to gold medal in competition—with others.

Unconventional

Old Faith, New Following