Something New and Something Similar
Photo by Rachel Lynette French on Unsplash
I’ve been working on reaching a different group of blog readers by posting revised and new posts on Medium. Medium is a huge and diverse platform for writers with many different publications. It covers pretty much any topic and demographic you could imagine.
My goal in writing and posting on Medium is to reach people who are spiritual seekers or at least curious about spiritual things. I’ve seen a lot of people who call themselves “exvangelicals” or who write about still following the Lord but not engaged in church. But there is also a large segment of people who have no real background or experience with any religion including Christianity.
Recently, I was able to get a post on a publication (within Medium’s platform) called Interfaith Now. It has a broad religious representation that includes Christianity and other major religions. I also wrote something about the original Serenity Prayer (see link below). I received some interesting responses and readers with both of these posts.
So, I will continue exploring ways to engage people who would not typically land on my website or subscribe to my posts on Word-Strong. The following posts are what I’ve written and posted on Medium since my last Thinking Out Loud posting. All these posts will have “friend links” to them so you don’t have to be a member of Medium to read them.
Thanks for reading!
Born again—more than a figure of speech
Christian believers use a lot of terms and expressions foreign to nonbelievers. Even many who regularly attend church don’t know the meaning of some of these terms, also referred to as Christianese or Bible talk.
A common Christian term is born again.
Believers will ask people, “Are you born again?” as if the person would know what they’re talking about. Sometimes believers approach a person and tell them, “You need to be born again!”
But unless it’s explained, the term born again doesn’t mean much to them.
In response to the “Haiku This” prompt, I am
A living spirit
within a living body
with a living hope
Because of your love
I am…
We all have a choice between hanging on to what was or moving forward
The story of Ruth the Moabitess is a glimmer of light in the midst of the national darkness Israel went through in the periodic leadership of the Judges sent by God to deliver His people from their oppressors.
Because of the many turns in the larger story of the Book of Ruth, I see several story vignettes laid out within the book as a whole. When I started doing devotional studies of Ruth, I called these story vignettes—Stories of Redemption.
The theme of redemption runs throughout the Book of Ruth and looks ahead in a prophetic way to Jesus — the Redeemer of all humanity.
Why Should Hope Spring Eternal?
Haiku This! prompt—hope
Hope springs eternal
As winter’s promise of spring
Life follows dying…
The Relevance and Value of the Serenity Prayer
A fresh look at the original Serenity Prayer
The Serenity Prayer is not only relevant in our present time, but its value to humanity endures far beyond its original context.
The most common and well-known form of the Serenity Prayer is a foundational element of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-Step meetings and programs. It’s simple, memorable, and comforting.
It delivers on the inferred promise of its title—
God grant us the serenity
to accept the things we cannot change,
courage to change the things we can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
When Jesus calls, it’s never random but intentional
Have you ever wondered what it was like to encounter Jesus when He walked on the earth? I have.
Imagine what it was like to hear His authoritative voice as he taught the crowds on the edge of the Sea of Galilee and to see His powerful touch when He healed people and set others free from evil spirits.
When I read the Bible, I like to take my time and even imagine myself present in the story itself. Of course, I can only mentally enter the scene but I like to imagine myself in the story looking around at all that’s going on.
Drawn to the Light
The great contrast between light and darkness
Light attracts insects at night. Living in the tropical climate of the Philippines for many years, it seemed like zillions of insects came out at night.
They would gather at porch lights and our security lights around the property. So would the geckos and other creatures who fed on them.
Light is powerful.
How real faith clears the fog of ambiguity in prayer
I’m a praying man. I’ve prayed and believed in prayer for a long time. Prayer, for me, is simple. And yet, the how and why of prayer is beyond my understanding. This is what I call the ambiguity of prayer.
The ambiguity is on my part. God understands prayer as no human can. It is the lifeline between me and He. Yet, it’s more than a means of communication.
It’s a state of communion in the truest sense. A connection beyond this physical world where my spirit bonds with God’s Spirit.
And yet, the ambiguity remains. God is eternal, I am not….
