The time is April, 1966- Easter season and my freshman year at Luther South High School. I am standing alone in the basement of Ashburn Lutheran Church in Chicago, wearing my ‘stylish’ new pointy-tipped shoes. I am acutely aware of my mother’s absence. She has been in a sanitarium for the past 3 months with […]
In If You Want to Walk on Water . . . , John Ortberg delineates the differences between fear and trust as they relate to our perceptions of God: “Fear whispers to us that God is not really big enough to take care of us. It tells us we are not really safe in his […]
In his book Putting Your Past in Its Place, Stephen Viars applies that old adage, “Eat it today, wear it tomorrow” to issues of the heart. The inner feelings or emotions we demonstrate today will have lasting consequences unless we diligently apply God’s Word in our adversity. Dr. Viars cautions that: -Today’s reactions become tomorrow’s […]
Long before Franklin Roosevelt, Henry David Thoreau once commented, “Nothing is so much to be feared as fear.” Perhaps that’s why “Fear not” is God’s most frequently repeated instruction (366 verses) in the Bible! John Ortberg believes the reason God gives that instruction so often “is that fear will sink us faster than anything else. […]
Victor Frankl was a Viennese psychiatrist who survived two Nazi concentration camps. He talked about the men who showed compassion to others and would share their last bit of food (cited by John Ortberg in If You Want to Walk on Water . . . ): ” . . . they offer sufficient proof that […]
John Ortberg ( If You Want to Walk on Water . . . ) relates this response by Abba Anthony, one of the Desert Fathers, when he was asked how a person would be able to please God. The first two pieces of advice Abba Anthony gave would not surprise practicing Christians- always keep your focus […]
In Chapter 6 (“Seeing the Wind”) of If You Want to Walk on Water . . . , John Ortberg describes 3 traits of resilient Christians that help them positively respond to traumatic events. He prefaces this list by stating: “Your heart is revealed and your character is forged when life does not turn out […]
In If You Want to Walk on Water . . . , John Ortberg describes 4 indicators that might signal us that God is calling us out of our spiritual comfort zone: 1. Fear- God will call us out of the boat at the point of our fears because He wants us to overcome them. 2. Frustration- we […]
As John Ortberg points out in If You Want to Walk on Water . . . , most of us are a mixture of trust and doubt. During our desert transition times, our Land Between, doubt often becomes the more predominant thought process. Rev. Ortberg offers this wise counsel: “When people wrestle with doubt, they […]
In times of suffering or adversity, we are prone to question God’s purpose for allowing those inopportune events. We may feel our lives should be packed with pleasant experiences and wonder what “good” God will bring out of our situation or when the “abundant life” the Bible promises will return. In his book Suffering: Eternity Makes […]
John Ortberg (If You Want to Walk on Water. . .) quotes Quaker educator and writer Parker Palmer on the subject of discerning God’s calling in your life: “You cannot choose you calling. You must let your life speak.” Listening is an essential skill to enable us to follow our calling. John Ortberg adds, “It […]
In Chapter 3 (Discerning the Call) of his book If You Want to Walk on Water . . . , John Ortberg contrasts two very different approaches to re-visioning one’s calling: “The line between ‘Thou shalt not be afraid’ and ‘Thou shalt not be ridiculous’ is often a fine one and not easily located. Knowing when […]