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Grace on Tuesdays                                                                         Yes, if you have a bit of English language background (lunch today with high school and college teachers of English!), you […]

Grace on TuesdaysOK, actually it was a Wednesday: 25 June, 1530. At the risk of their lives seven princes offered grace to their emperor, in the form of a confession of their faith in Christ, in the city of Augsburg, Germany. Permit a paraphrase: we cannot get right with God by our work or control. We […]

               “I was a sensitive child with a deep yearning for God, though I was always a little unsure of how God felt about me. In a religious climate that valued righteousness and exactness, I worried that I didn’t measure up.  I busied myself with the work of becoming worthy of God’s favor, seeking always […]

Does the Gottman Method of Relationship Therapy permit a parable or two, earthly stories paralleling God’s gracious method of relating with us?  Three possibilities: As relationships grow, 1) Couples “Express Fondness and Admiration” for each other.  Christian worship? God speaking love and people responding:  see Psalm 8!  2) Couples make a point to “Turn Toward […]

Grace on Tuesdays Is it true? We ask, “What activities at church would attract people?” That’s a good question; I am grateful for people who work hard on activities at church. But we can also ask, “What activities as church would make God’s grace attractive to others?” Or, to put the two together, “What can […]

Perhaps it’s the intensity of the buildings in our part of Hong Kong, the wonder of forty-story apartment buildings side by side by side.  Perhaps that is why I felt challenged recently, while watching Christian music on my computer,  that the visuals were beautiful church buildings or beautiful hills and mountains.  I found myself asking, […]

Grace on Tuesdays He said, “We all got secrets. I got them same as everybody else—things we feel bad about and wish hadn’t ever happened. Hurtful things. Long ago things. We’re all scared and lonesome, but most of the time we keep it hid. It’s like every one of us has lost his way so bad we […]

Grace on Tuesdays A friend asked, and we did—talk.  But another time recently it was a stranger, the guy next to me at lunch at the conference. He didn’t ask; we just started talking.  Of course, some conversations can be artificial or manipulative. But then there are the ones that are real, that promise more […]

14 May, 2019 Grace on Tuesdays Working through the Bible readings for last weekend, I noticed what Paul did in his farewell speech to the elders from Ephesus. “I commend you to God and to his word of grace” (Acts 20:32).1) “Good point,” I thought, especially in these days of US graduations, “We commend you to […]

7 May, 2019 Grace on Tuesdays—well, yes, other days too! I noticed some “Alleluia!” music playing on YouTube, from whatever source. I was passive, just noticing. Then, just listening. Then I began to realize it’s my “Alleluia,” too. In Christ, Grace opens for us this music, whatever the melody, whoever the singer. We are invited […]