Not a Safe God

In CS Lewis’ classic children’s tale for adults, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver tell the children about Aslan, a mighty lion, a Christ-figure. The leery children ask, “Then he isn’t safe?”

“Safe?...Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”

Many desire a safe God, one who saves us, who helps us, but doesn’t disrupt our lives. But Jesus challenges us to transcend the fatal disease of complacency that afflicts so many of us. We love God, but not passionately. We change, but not radically. We give, but not sacrificially. We rely so much on grace (Ephesians 2:8), that we forget verse 9, that we’re saved to do good works.

Enough.

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God Answers Prayer, But...

Too often, my prayers seem to bounce back from the ceiling. Not sure about you, but I’m often left puzzled at how God answers prayers, or doesn’t. I know the cliché: he says yes, no, or later. However, a transcendent God shouldn’t, and can’t, be simplified into a three-option cliché. Maybe we can find more nuances in his responses. Maybe we need to…

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Chaotic Devotions

I love Jesus. I appreciate personally knowing the transcendent Creator of the universe (one of my books, A Passionate Pursuit of God, focuses on this). I realize the need to nurture this relationship regularly. Not once a week, not even once a day, but moment by moment. And I’ve tried just about every method suggested by those who know. Daily devotion books. Christian living books. Study guides. Accountability partners. Practicing the presence. And they have all worked. Until…they didn’t. The flaw…

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Imperfect

Funny, how both optimists and pessimists claim they are the realists. Both have truth, and both tend to ignore the other dimension of reality. My pessimism forced me to choose to develop optimism to save my sanity…and perhaps my life. But how do we balance the realism of both troubles and good times?

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Jesus Revolution

Viewing the new movie “The Jesus Revolution” refreshed many memories. I returned to God then, attended the Calvary Chapel Saturday nights in the tent, passed out Jesus flyers at the 1971 Rose Parade, even led a Christian coffee house at my church. But more deeply, the Jesus freaks speak to us today. First, in both eras, Jesus intrigued people, but…

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People Care for People

Yes, social media can often come across as unsocial, or even anti, but it enables us to establish new relationships and rekindle some from earlier days. Facebook taught me a great spiritual lesson not long ago. Two good friends faced serious health issues at the same time, one with COVID, the other with cancer, and I asked if I could share their need on Facebook. The former agreed and wanted to stay anonymous, with good reason; John Prothero, the latter, allowed the use of his name and picture. At least ten times as many responded with an emoticon or comment for…

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Why Worship Together?

Some lies have more truth than falsehood, which merely increases their danger. Such as, “I love God, but I can worship him just as well at the beach or the mountains.” I tend to agree, mountain trips often provide some of my best worship. Immersed in the transcendent beauty of God’s creation, away from the overpowering touch of man, my ego shrinks as I get lost in God. But if the truth in that quote becomes an excuse for not being in gathered weekly worship, then it becomes a dangerous lie. We eliminate part of what God designed worship to be. We decrease our godliness. Our preferences have more value…

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