Embrace the New

Prayer, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Growth

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent [change your old way of thinking] for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 4:17 (AMP)

On May 20th, 1936, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal.” At the time, the usage of electricity was commonplace in cities. But most rural areas were still operating without electrical power.

The Rural Electrification Act paved the way with federal funding for the installation of electrical distribution systems in order to serve these rural areas. Immediately, electrical power became available to farms, ranches, and isolated settlements that until then had never experienced its benefit.

Everyday life for these rural folks had the potential to radically change in some of the most fundamental aspects – food preservation, dish-washing, cooking, laundry, bathing, and labor. A whole new world was at hand.

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The Handiwork of Healthy Prayer

Prayer, Spiritual Growth

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Jesus (Mk. 12:30-31)

Earlier in my spiritual journey, during my teenage years, I can remember setting a goal for myself – thirty minutes of prayer every day. Thirty minutes seemed like a nice, round number. It was the length of an episode of Saved by the Bell. It seemed quite attainable.

For the first few days, I figured things were going pretty well. I was enjoying my time of prayer each day, and I was especially satisfied by the realization that I had made a goal and was sticking to it.

However, after a few days, I recognized a strange dynamic at play. I came to grips with the awareness that my motivation wasn’t so much about making meaningful connection with God, as much as it was about feeling the gratification of achieving my measurable goal.

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Paul, Apostle of Christ

Books, Christian history, Film, Prayer

A little over a week ago, Carrie and I were out of town for a few days. We were looking for a few things to do. A friend of mine had given me a strong recommendation for the movie, “Paul, Apostle of Christ,” starring James Faulkner and Jim Caviezel.

I have to confess, I am usually not an enthusiastic fan of “Christian movies” for a variety of reasons. Not to sound cynical, but it’s difficult for me to bear with the usually poor artistic elements. Generally, the acting and the writing are substandard, and the delivery of the message is pretty formulaic and uncreative.

Nevertheless, because this was a biopic of Paul, and because we trusted my friend’s recommendation, we decided to give it a shot.

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