CategoryDiscipleship

I don’t believe in coincidence. In our secular, scientific culture, we dismiss seemingly random occurrences as, well, random.  After all, why would we think that losing our keys or getting stuck in a traffic jam could be anything else? But maybe… because you were late you were protected from a car accident. Maybe…. buying coffee 10 minutes late let you encourage the new barista. I also don’t believe in fate. I certainly don’t believe that God has us on strings like marionettes, for if He did, there would be no need to fill the Scripture with passages talking...

Remember that first-day-on-the-job feeling? If you are anything like me, you are convinced that sometime during that first week it will be obvious how little you know, that your manager will call you into the office to say that you just don’t measure up and it’s not going to work out. That even if you make it past that first week, your coworkers will surely see that you just can’t keep up with them. Maybe, like me, you still have moments of feeling of inadequate  after being successful on the job for years – even when your “brain” knows that you are...

Do you ever feel like you’re wasting your life? As if the work you do day-in and day-out is meaningless? I get it. So did the writer of Ecclesiastes. I work full-time as a systems analyst (a software developer who does a lot more analysis and design – not just “coding”).  I also work a part-time job as an adjunct professor, teaching more of that systems analysis “stuff”. On the one hand, I am fortunate to have excellent jobs with understanding, wise bosses.  However, sometimes I just “don’t wanna!”.   Sometimes it can feel like...

Every now and again I catch myself saying “that isn’t on my agenda” when someone suggests an activity or extends an invitation.  I have learned to readjust my schedule when my to-do-list is getting in the way of relationships, but I still have that initial “Nope, not on the plan” reaction. We all have plans.  Things to do before tomorrow, next week, next month.  Another holiday or birthday meal to plan, another work project to finish, another 401k to build up, another milestone to achieve. Life is full of very human concerns.  But Matthew 16:22-23 challenges our...