The Keener Way

  I read a story the other day, almost definitely AI-generated. It was about a grumpy old man who lived on cans of beans, and his granddaughter, a typical broke homeless Generation Z who moves in with him when she can no longer pay her apartment rent. Grumpy Grandad blamed his granddaughter's money problems on her $7 lattes and Netflix subscription. She blamed inflation, high interest rates, and a bad job market. Overall, the story was quite cliche, drawing on every stereotype that exists in the great debate of trying to afford housing. Granddaughter felt that she deserved to treat herself to lattes and Netflix and ordering out, because the economy was bad, life was hard, and she needed a few simple pleasures in life.  Grandad told her how he worked 14 hour days, living off of a baloney sandwich and a can of beans every single day. Where you stand in this debate is irrelevant. What is important is one particular line of the story that hit  really  hard. The Grandad s...

  Yeah, I know. Its been a hot second since I posted. Life has been a bit intense lately, with not a lot of breathing space. Anyway, it is time to continue the study on Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount, where He teaches His disciples, "this is what it looks like to be one of my disciples. This is the way I want you to live." And we are now in the section of his sermon where He addresses the taking of oaths. Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:33-37 BSB  See, the thing is, when someone takes an oath, this kind of insinuates that you can't...

  It has been a hot minute since I've read the book of 1 John. But when the sermon at my church sent me there today, I realized I've been needing it this past week. The book really isn't that long. Five very short chapters. Yet there is so much packed inside! For a brief overview: Chapter 1 -The purpose of this letter is to make your joy complete. -If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with the Lord. -If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive. Chapter 2 -Jesus is our atoning sacrifice. -If we keep the commandments of Jesus, we can be sure we have come to know Him. -If you hate your brother, you still walk in darkness. -Whoever loves his brother remains in the light. -The world, fleshly desires, the pride of life, the lust of our eyes... These things are passing away. Do not love them. -Those who departed from the faith were not in it to begin with, and are antichrists. -We have received an anointing from Christ, which teaches us all things. Chapter 3 -When Chr...

  You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Say what?? Indeed. In Yeshua's sermon on how to live as one of his disciples, He takes a very sudden shift from "blessed are they" to talking about candles and table salt. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16, BSB  There's a few interesting pieces to this section. And we can nearly fill an entire lesson with salt alone. Salt was a valuable thing in ancient times. There was an era where merchants traded North African salt for...

  "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you." ~Matthew 5:10-12, BSB In His Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua desired to teach His followers the way to be His followers. A type of "you have already become my disciple, you've already repented, already committed to learning my way of life, so here is how I live" The interesting part of this lesson though, starts with the word "persecuted". In Greek, this is "dediōgmenoi", which actually means "to pursue continually" . Which oddly enough can go two ways, depending on the context. For instance, although Psalm 23:6 was written in Hebrew, this Greek word would fit in the context of "goodness and m...

  Friday, June 7, 2024 5:00 am, Mountain Standard Time My eyelids fluttered open after a somewhat choppy night of sleep. Although tired out from my long journey, I had shared the night with noisy neighbors who had no regard for campground quiet hours, and I was forced to listen to calming music through earbuds to get any sleep at all. But that mattered little now. This was my first morning in Colorado! Forcing myself to abandon my blanket, I slipped out of my tent into the cool 50-something degree morning and scrambled down to the edge of the Pueblo City Reservoir. I was like a little kid in an ice cream shop when I saw the endless heaps of shale fragments that lined the lake shore. Unlimited rock skipping! I stepped into the clear water, which was definitely decisively cool, but not outright freezing. I skipped rocks for the better part of half an hour, amazed at how easy it was to entertain myself with nothing but a heap of rocks and a gigantic 4600 acre puddle. But finally, the ...

  For half a lifetime, I have dreamed of seeing the Rocky Mountains. Most of my early fantasies have centered around northwestern Montana, which is very much still on my bucket list. But a few years ago, Colorado started to come onto my radar. I've never been further west than the eastern edge of Missouri. I never had the time, money, or means for the Rockies to be a practical trip. But as I grew older, as I tried different jobs and found high dissatisfaction with all of them, my mind started wandering. What is a job that will always be needed, no matter what happens to the economy? A job that is hard, honest work? A job that will never ever go away? Growing food. Dairy farmers, ranchers, crop farmers... They are irreplaceable. And what really caught my attention was the idea that some big farms/ranches, especially out west, sometimes offered housing options to employees. It would be the perfect way to relocate to a different state without worrying about renting an apartment and tr...

    In case I've never told you, Ted Dekker is one of my most favorite authors. His work is one of my primary inspirations within my own writing journey. And this week, I'm revisiting his Forgotten Way study. And let me tell you... WOW. I first went through it several years ago, and it impacted me to a degree at that point. But I was also way younger and way more immature. Now, especially with all the things the Lord has been teaching me over the last two years, Ted's insights are hitting me even harder.And that's just the intro chapter that I read yesterday night. Lemme quote you what he said. "The preeminent evidence shown by those who know the Father is this: love . And not just any love, but the unique kind that loves enemies, not only those who show us love in return. A love that is patient, showing no jealousy or arrogance, keeping no record of wrong, not seeking its own and not provoked by another's behavior." This is the powerful agape love that th...

     In a debate group that I am part of, the topic recently surfaced, if we are once saved, are we always saved. This immediately became a hot topic, with many members weighing in.      At first, while I had my leanings, I was undecided which side of the debate I adhered to. After all, why does it matter ultimately? We do well to live as though we could lose our salvation, according to Philippians 2:12, which says, "Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. "      But for the sake of argument, I spent the next several days pouring over scripture, trying to find any and all patterns of rejection and redemption. Do we have examples of known saved people rejecting and thus losing their salvation?      The reality is, we don't. We simply do not know the state of a man's heart. Only God knows. So if ...