Loving Our Enemies Within | Personal Prayer of Psalm 139

Mollie Havens August 1, 2025

**Psalm 139 (NLT) For the choir director: A psalm of David, and a prayer of Mollie**

The following is Psalm 139 with Mollie’s own prayer woven in. It invites the reader to consider how personal the Scriptures can be.

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
Lord, You know every detail about my life, even the parts that I don’t see or don’t want to. You know every motive of my heart and every thought of my mind. You perceive my emotions and make sense of my behaviors. What can I hide from you and what would I want to?

2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
Even before I think, a thought, you know it full well. Your thoughts are too high for me, too lofty for me to attain. Yet, you transform me, sanctify, and make me holy.

3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
O Lord, where can I hide from you? You know when I am exhausted and when I am full of zeal. You foreknew every step and make straight the path before me. In every valley or mountain high, you will guide me through it all. You are in control of my coming out and my lying down.

4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
Even before I think the thoughts to create the words I say, you perceive them and understand them. You know every intent of every word and I commit them all to you.

5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
May your favor rest upon me. May you anoint each step as I do my best to follow you. Take me by the hand and guide me. Go before and behind me. Be my ever present help in trouble and victory in freedom.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
It is beyond me to understand your thoughts and your ways. Yet, through your gift of the Holy Spirit within me, you reveal to me the loftiness of your reasonings. Though I may not understand all your ways. I am learning to trust you more each day.

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
I am grateful that no matter where I am you are there. Even when I want to be alone in my shame, you remind me that You want to be there too.

8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
No matter where my brokenness leads me, even there, you will meet me with a warm embrace. I can lean on and depend upon your strength to satisfy and uphold me.

11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
Even when my sin weighs me down and I am ashamed, you make my night illuminate like the day. You say to me, “there is nothing to hide. I love you through and through, and I forgive every part of you.”

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
At times I question if I am indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. I look at my faults and weaknesses and am not filled with wonder. Instead I experience shame, guilt and doubt. Other times I think, how does a good God make me to be like this? Why do the dark parts of me exist? How can I control them? Alas, I cannot. Lord, you teach me that it is only through the submission to the Holy Spirit and His fruits that I can fully become all You have intended for me to become.

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
I may not understand every facet of me, but you do. You call me wonderful and marvelous. Help me to embrace myself like you do. Grant me your eyes to see me how you see me.

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
You fully know every detail of my past and future. Let me be caught up in the present moments with you. Fully trusting you with every part of my life.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
At times, it is hard to believe that one can have precious thoughts about me. Lord, help me to view myself as you view me. I am holy and worthy in your eyes.

19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
LORD, I am grateful that my life is protected with you eternally. Help me to pray for those that are different from me or those that live their lives contrary to your plan.

20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name,
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
Yet you are a God of love. Yes, you are a jealous God, but you also give freedom of choice. Help me to understand more of how you see the world and love as you love.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
LORD, I surrender every thought, word and action to you. Show me the ways in me that you want to change and grant me the serenity to do so.

24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Show me the way to heaven and let me walk in those ways currently and forever more. Reveal to me all that you have for me and for you children. LORD, I want to know you more. I long to spend eternity with you. Come quickly, LORD, please come. Let my heart cry be, “MARANATHA” COME LORD COME!

About the Author

Mollie is married to her wonderful husband Dustin. She is a Wound Care RN at McKenzie Willamette Hospital. She enjoys being creative, getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

Loving Our Enemies Within | God’s Grace is Our Superpower

John Rice July 18, 2025

Imagine yourself as a beautiful, unique clay bowl when you were born. You were one of a kind. Your shape, your color, your size were all very special and you were deeply loved, appreciated and cared for by your parents. As you started to grow older you noticed that you were different from all the other kids. A few of those kids didn’t like your different qualities and they seemed jealous or afraid of you, so they called you names and excluded you from their games. This hurt. You might have started to think that they had good reason to not like you, like maybe you were unworthy of their admiration. This all had the effect of knocking a chip out of the beautiful pottery bowl that was yourself.

Sometime later, you were frustrated because you needed something that you couldn’t afford, but someone you knew had this thing and you figured that they didn’t really need it like you needed it. So you stole it. Your conscience felt a little bad about it, but you were able to push those thoughts down in your mind…at least mostly. You noticed something like a small crack in the side of your bowl.

Then someone you loved moved far away or even died. This was like a big crack in your bowl, so big that a part of your bowl broke off and shattered. Because of this loss, you felt so bad that you tried taking drugs to ease the pain and before you knew it, you felt you couldn’t live without these drugs. You were addicted and your life really started falling apart. There were more and more cracks in the beautiful bowl that once seemed so perfect. If you believed in God, you were pretty sure God had allowed all these things to happen to you because you weren’t the good person God wanted you to be. This life, and these cracks, were punishment for your imperfections and your failings. Your clay bowl was so cracked that you thought it was useless and ready for the junk pile.

But God apparently had a different plan. Rather than judge and punish you for your bad choices and painful experiences, He began to fill in all those cracks and shattered pieces, mending them so that your bowl was restored, still useful and possibly even more beautiful than before! And not only did He repair the gaps and missing pieces, He did it with the costliest materials.

This image of you as a once perfect, then broken, and finally restored clay pot is a spiritual dynamic found in the Bible…it’s called grace.

Japanese craftsmen employ an ancient technique called “Kintsugi” to repair broken clay pots and bowls. It fits with their philosophy that just because something breaks, it shouldn't be thrown away but rather restored. This is honoring the original by giving it new life. And the new bowl or pot has an extra special dimension, having been restored with precious materials like gold or silver.

The kintsugi technique reminds me of God’s working to restore us by His grace. Grace is defined as undeserved favor. We can’t restore ourselves by our willpower and strength alone. It’s a gift of God’s grace, as Paul mentions in his letter to the believers in Ephesus:

Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to do.

How amazing that God saves us! He restores us! He transforms us! And it not only benefits ourselves…it’s for the purpose of blessing others and to make the world a better place, “to do good works which He prepared beforehand for us to do.”

Here are some pictures of bowls restored with the Kintsugi process:

Be blessed! The only thing required to have this beautiful and valuable restorative process take place in your life is to receive the grace God is pouring into you. Look for it!

About the Author

John lives in Pleasant Hill with his dog, Gunnar, and a multitude of guests who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Cascade foothills. With three children and three grandchildren all living in Oregon, he is continually blessed with their company and the good food that always accompanies their get-togethers!

Loving Our Enemies Within | Everything Belongs

Terry Sheldon July 4, 2025

We’ve all likely heard the instruction to love your enemy, but how often do we apply that to some of the more unlikeable parts of ourselves? There are aspects of ourselves that will inevitably cause us frustration, shame, disgust, or confusion. Is there an opportunity to act lovingly to those parts, rather than ignore them or hide them? How does God invite us to love ourselves as he does?

Our bible has many references for enemies - in the Old Testament especially. It helps us to understand it all within the backdrop of ancient Hebrew culture, one of a forceful foreign occupation and struggle, with the resulting violence. The many stories understandably contain human outrages and laments with the injustice of it all. Then New Testament Jesus brought a stark contrast with the divine goal of a radical, forgiving love. In our times, enemies can be people in our world and in our lives, while at the same time a relational cancer that preys on us all.

It’s the enemy within.

Yes, we all hear the deceiver’s lies, and we cringe as we observe the evil and suffering in the world around us. Our tender hearts seem to frequently be under attack. And haven’t we all heard about the get-tough language of waging spiritual warfare and “kicking out the devil?” I am certainly for standing up to evil and the evil one, but maybe we’re missing something. So yes, go bold.

But also softer, gentler and more intuitive.

We all know that surrounding our many manifestations of feeling human - guilt, fear, shame, grieving, showing emotion, etcetera - are cultural assumptions and even rules about how we are to behave. Yeah, those stigmas that we think we should all be over with by now, are still lurking deep. Harmful thoughts and feelings may be newly imagined, or latent and smoldering over time, from past wounds. They stop us.

An African proverb goes like this:

“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” A great concept, but what do we do with the enemy within, toss it out with a choice scripture?

Or a more nuanced approach.

Abraham Lincoln said:

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.”

Hmm, now we’re on to something. I love the idea that everything belongs in our lives. The good and the not so good. The sweet times and the struggling. God uses it all. ALL of it. He speaks to us in it all and changes us through it. He redeems it.

Instead of being so hard on ourselves, how about this attitude: Our spiritual lives are an adventure, and our overriding task should be the seeking and knocking. That takes curiosity and an open mind. And courage (but great reward)! Beyond stigmas, let’s give ourselves permission to FEEL the hurt, maybe identify the whys, and lean into the change.

Let's press in harder to get to know the heart of Father God, and ourselves better. The softer and gentler approach seeks understanding of our own insecurities and triggers, but without the shame and those tired, cultural expectations.

The end goal of our relationship with God is seeking our (and His) deepest desires - simply put, learning how to love and learning how to be loved.

Luke 6:27 The Message
“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.”

About the Author

Terry is a man in constant motion to explore new horizons. He has a thirst for new places and faces, and a deep love for the natural world - with a weakness for waterfalls and sunsets. All of this venturing out helps to both ground and inspire him, because it opens him up to people, with their vast, collective array of experiences, outlooks and responses.

He finds all of this fascinating and sees that it has encouraged the growth of something crucial in his Christian development: empathy and compassion toward his brothers and sisters on this planet.

The Evolution of Our Faith | Hinder Not the Children

Professor Popinjay (Chris Carter) June 20, 2025

The movie “Jack” (1996) is the story of a kid who aged really fast. He’s played by a remarkable man who left too soon.

This film is a perfect vehicle for the antics of beloved Robin Williams. He’s basically a big kid, isn’t he?

I have a hard time saying those words because of a strange dichotomy I find in myself. The Bible simultaneously told me to become like a child and believe with the innocence and wonder of a child, unbridled by the doubt and skepticism of adulthood, while at the same time it said when I become an adult I must put away the things of a child and not think like a child.

I do not believe this is a contradiction, however.

Children can be very selfish. As we mature, selfishness is something we have to unlearn. Sadly, many of us don’t. At the same time, children can be very generous, having no sense of value, no indoctrination into hatred and prejudice, and often they have no thought of reward when they give.

I’ve been criticized because I’ve liked toys clear into adulthood. I hit the toy aisle every time I’m in a store. I’d take a Lego set over a 290-piece ratchet set any day. Sure, adulthood necessitates a ratchet set, but I’d prefer Lego. I’ve had to explain why I can watch a YouTuber play through a videogame but I have no interest in watching other people play football. I feel I have to defend myself when I purchase a thing simply because its design delights my sense of wonder and sparks my imagination. These are my opiates. My pastimes. I refuse to rate one over someone else’s or compare them to anyone else’s interests on any convoluted scale of maturity.

I believe one's maturity is demonstrated not in their interests but in their ability to maintain balance, keep priorities in order, and put others before themselves. My family is healthy, housed, fed, clothed, and I spend copious amounts of time and money on them. I wish I had more time with them but adulting requires me to make money to supply their needs and that requires toil and toil takes time. Call me a big kid if you want, but I can’t imagine why anyone would prefer to “adult” instead of actually enjoying themselves or time with their family. Granted, the “adulting” I had to do to create my family was mostly enjoyable and well worth it.

Douglas Adams wrote “…man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much – the wheel, New York, wars and so on – whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.”

I’ve endured things I wouldn’t wish on anyone; child, adult, or otherwise. My children have had to grow up too fast in some respects due to the things they’ve had to endure. Even as they grow and mature with the natural ebb and flow of life, I miss their innocence that has been chipped away by a trying and perverse world. There’s a phase where they stop identifying through me and become their own persons. It is inevitable, of course, and a healthy process. Someday they’ll long for emotional reconnection with their parental units. I bide my time for now, and enjoy the moments I do get.

I feel the best way to prepare my children for this world in the meantime is to teach them how to balance work and rest and play and take care of what they have in the present, to take care of those around them, just as I have learned. And I try not to get too frustrated when they don’t immediately learn these lessons. They’re still kids after all. But the world and its problems can wait every once in a while as we delight in the distraction of a game, or a toy, or our art, or our music. In those moments we are, all of us, ageless. Past scars or future worries are not forgotten but understood amongst ourselves as we joyfully and safely exist in an ever present Now.

I don’t know the details of Robin Williams' vices and troubles. I do know the pain of loss and I know how difficult it is to cope sometimes. Robin’s daughter, Zelda, said this:

“Avoiding fear, sadness or anger is not the same thing as being happy. I live my sadness every day, but I don’t resent it anymore.” She continues, “The wonderful moments of joy I do find are not in order to forget, but to inhabit and enjoy for their own sake.”

No matter how old he looked or felt, the character of Jack enjoyed his life. I think he knew deep down how short it would be. Some of us may live 100 years. Our lives may be fraught with tribulation and strife. But regardless of how long we live and how terrible our troubles are, it’s too short a time to waste on excessive sorrow and grief. That resilient, playful child you once were wants to enjoy the moments while the moments are still forthcoming.

Robin Williams never made public the details of his visits to pediatric hospitals but posthumously an anonymous writer said this:

“His visits didn't cure illnesses or change medical outcomes. But they did something else. They gave a flicker of joy to the fading. They softened the hardest moments for grieving families. And they reminded everyone in the room, patients, parents, nurses, even Robin himself, that laughter still had power, even at the edge of goodbye. Sometimes, healing isn't about medicine. It's about making someone feel alive, even for a moment, when the world says they shouldn't.”

Some might consider Robin Williams to be just a big kid. Personally, I can think of no one more mature.

We were each a child at one time. That child is still here, still full of wonder and excitement, still seeking God’s face with awe. Hinder them not.

About the Author

Christopher has worked as a children’s pastor and youth leader for several years and has published countless humor articles under the pseudonym Professor Popinjay. He studied biblical history and child psychology through Burean University and various other educational institutions. He enjoys writing, art, and the history of invention. He lives with his amazing wife Jessie and their six bizarre children, one of whom is a cat..

The Evolution of Our Faith | Life with God

Jessie Carter June 6, 2025

While my beliefs and faith have certainly evolved over time, one of the biggest impacts on my faith was a book that actually brought me back to what I thought I had always believed but hadn’t really been practicing.

In 2014, during my summer break from teaching in Afghanistan, I started seeing a counselor named Evan who was a licensed therapist and also a Christian. My employer paid for mental health insurance since we worked in a conflict zone, and I figured I’d need some therapy for a little PTSD from working there. I’d also never gotten to debrief with a counselor after my divorce a few years earlier.

Instead of working on the PTSD, Evan felt I should focus on a few other areas. In addition to working on grieving my place in life at the time (divorced with no kids), he had me work on some character issues I had that were causing relationship issues with friends and relatives, as well do some work on my faith, which had gotten off track. He recommended various books for me to read: “Boundaries” by Cloud & Townsend, “It’s Your Call” by Gary Barkalow, “When the Heart Waits” by Sue Monk Kidd, and “With: Reimagining the Way We Relate to God” by Skye Jethani.

They all impacted my life in various ways, but that last one was a call back to my first love and what I’d always thought my faith was built on. I’d grown up in a Protestant/Evangelical non-denominational church that focused on us having a personal faith/relationship with God, so I thought that’s what I believed. But in practice, I was living out my faith differently.

In his book, Skye Jethani (whose father is from India, so I appreciate his perspective that isn’t limited to American-style Christianity) discusses the five possible “postures” we humans can have in relating to God. Most of us tend to fall into one of the first four that he describes, but what we really need is the fifth.
Postures 1-4:

Life Under God - our primary role is to do all the right things or obey all the right rules, then God blesses us (legalism)
Live Over God - living by Biblical principles or worldly wisdom, but not really needing Him
Life From God - using God to gain something (think “prosperity Gospel” practices)
Life For God - where the most significant life is one spent accomplishing things in service to Him

These first four postures are ways of controlling God or controlling our own life. But there is another way:

Posture 5: Life With God
Skye reminds us that the first story of humans in the Bible is in the Garden of Eden, which God prepared for (my paraphrase) the express purpose of hanging out with us humans. The book of John starts out by saying “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

At various times in my life, I’m sure I’ve lived in all of those first four postures. At the time I read the book, I was very focused on the “Life For God” one. I was all about what I could do for God or others, instead of remembering that God is God and Jesus is the Savior, so I don’t need to be. People in professions I’ve been in like teachers, social workers, aid workers, missionaries, etc. can tend to fall into this posture. But really I just need to abide in Him and then follow the Holy Spirit’s lead to impact the world around me. At other times in my life, I lived “Under God.” Growing up, I subconsciously thought if I lived a pure enough life and obeyed the Bible, then things would eventually go my way. A lot of our country’s culture wars could be blamed on this posture, too. If we just have all the right laws and make everyone live how we think they should, then God will bless our land/country/world/etc.

Which of the four common postures have you found yourself in lately? It’s so easy to fall into these!

But living with God, that’s hard. Sure, we can schedule “quiet times” and read devotionals and the Bible and try going on prayer walks. Maybe it’s just me and my ADHD, but I don’t last very long at these. My mind wanders off so quickly. So I’ve learned to follow the wisdom of Brother Lawrence, a monk from centuries ago who wrote the essay/short book “Practicing the Presence of God.” I’m pretty sure I’ve written about this for the Salt Blog before, so I’ll keep this short. Basically it’s the idea that we can talk to God in short or long times whatever we’re doing. Washing dishes, driving to work, etc. I’ve learned to chat with Him for a minute or two and then not live in guilt if I get distracted. I can talk to Him more later, since He is the Creator of time.

I also try to remember that God wants us to talk to Him not just when we feel our need for Him, but when times are good, too. I write in a gratitude journal sometimes, but I try to remember to just “hang out” with Him sometimes. Talk to Him about what I like or something random. He doesn’t just love us; He likes us! He made us and knows us and enjoys us.

Of course, life can get so busy that I forget to even do this for a while. This is why other aspects of the Christian walk are so important, such as regular fellowship and worship as well as engaging with the Word in various ways (study, sermons, podcasts, discussions, etc.). These things help me be more likely to remember to talk to God when times are good or bad.

What things in life help you to get back to a posture of being with God instead of over, under, for, or from Him? Please share in the comments or with me somehow. I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

About the Author

Jessie is a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a blog about travel and the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her sweet husband, Chris, their 5 funny kids, and 1 fluffy cat in Springfield. She loves hiking and other outdoor and indoor adventures with her family.

The Evolution of Our Faith | Raw Grace

Mollie Havens May 21, 2025

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.”
~ C.S. Lewis

At times I am tempted to build a wall around my heart. I feel safe behind my barrier of accomplishments and harden my heart towards past pains. I put on a facade and hide behind a fake smile. Over time, however, I have learned to break down this wall through letting God’s love, grace, mercy, peace and joy shine a light through the cracks and tear down my Jericho.

Love and grace go hand in hand. I have found that to truly love someone, I must hold tightly to grace and humility. Christ is the supreme example of this. Philippians 2:8 describes how Jesus humbled Himself through laying down his life for all mankind. Somehow, through faith and His sacrifice of unconditional love, we may know the encouragement and comfort Christ brings. The consolation of love may fully be felt in the fellowship we experience with the Spirit. It is in this fellowship that our hope deepens, our joys are fulfilled, and His affection and compassion for us are experienced. This love prompts me to recall one of the Hebrew words for love, which is Hesed. This encapsulates His profound lovingkindness, steadfastness and loyalty towards humanity. His affections are bound to us through His covenant fulfilled in Christ. His display of faithfulness for us enables me to mirror this Hesed love towards those in my closest circles of relationship. It is there that I partake in a fathomable, real love and grasp the heights and depths of His and their love towards me.

Over time I have learned to differentiate grace from mercy. Grace is His unmerited favor or blessings that we receive freely with no requirement of repayment. Mercy, on the other hand, is when He withholds the negative repercussions of our choices and spares us from the natural consequences of our mistakes. The promise in Romans 8:28 reminds us of how God, who deeply loves us and is concerned greatly for us, causes all things to work together as a plan for good according to His amazing purposes.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul writes of how the Lord has said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough, always available, regardless of any situation.” For my power is being perfected and completed through showing itself most effectively in weakness. Therefore let us rejoice in our weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may completely dwell in us. I have found much solace also in Hebrews 4:16, which describes how when we approach the throne of grace and God’s gracious favor, with confidence and without fear, we may receive mercy for our failures so that we may fully experience His amazing grace to help us in times of need.

One of my life verses is Joshua 1:5b-9, which reminds me to approach life with a courage that only the LORD can bring and restore. In this strength I can boldly follow wherever He may lead and run this race He has set before me with endurance. He lifts me up on eagle’s wings and enables me to soar to new heights and discover all that He has in store for me.

About the Author

Mollie is married to her wonderful husband Dustin. She is a Wound Care RN at McKenzie Willamette Hospital. She enjoys being creative, getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

Like a Child | God as Father

Mike Wilday May 9, 2025

Occasionally we ‘rerun’ a blog post. We are blessed to have a talented group of writers who are sensitive to the voice and heart of the Lord through the seasons of their lives. What they have to share is worth repeating! This is one such blog post. Enjoy!

It’s no accident that all four of the gospels begin with the revelation of God as a loving father to all of humanity. The exploration of the incarnate God, the journey of discovering Jesus, begins with the revelation of God as a father doting on his son.

The father child relationship is so important in my own personal life journey. The relationship I had with my father had a tremendous impact on my life. His emotional absence and the lack in our relationship has been a source of grief and great pain staining my belief about myself, and creating trauma that impacts the way I approach relationships with others. It interferes with the way I father, and opposes the way I even care for myself.

I know I’m not alone in this, so many people have been impacted by their relationships with their fathers, and yet that is the way God chose to reveal himself to humanity, and each gospel accounts this revealing of Jesus, his son. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all describe the event of Jesus’ baptism. The first words we hear God speak in the New Testament are those of a doting father, who delights in his son. Imagine with me this moment: it’s been 400 years since God has spoken through the prophets, or revealed himself to his people. Suddenly, a prophet is revealed: some crazy man named John who wears camel skin and wanders the desert. He’s warning everyone to repent of their sins and turn to God.(Matt 3:2; Mark 3:4; Luke 3:7).

God, in all his power, and all that holiness, and all that expectation, reveals himself during Jesus’ baptism as a loving father; one who is well pleased with his son. This is so vastly different than the voice booming on the mountain side, accompanied with thunder and lightning and fire and smoke.(Exodus 19:16-18).

I love the juxtaposition of these realities as expressed in John 1:17: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” Jesus, he explains in John 1:12, gives us the right to become children of God. This really sets apart the work of Jesus as he brings another revelation of the heart of the father. God, as is even portrayed in the Old Testament, is full of mercy, generous, kind, and loving. He can be trusted, depended on. He is one who heals, who speaks kindly, who loves to show mercy, who is patient, and long suffering. He is one who waits expectantly with a ring and a robe to welcome us home. He is one who leaves the ninety-nine to pursue the one astray. He is a father, who is avidly pursuing our hearts. He deeply longs to be in a relationship with us, his children. He is a good father who loves us. Take a moment to listen to this YouTube playlist of songs while considering these truths. I pray these songs bless you and minister to your heart as you consider how much the Lord loves you today. You are his dearly loved child. Rest in that today.

About the Author

Mike enjoys spending time with his wife and four kids. He loves Jesus, art, music, and poetry. He currently works as the Manager of Learning Technology Solutions for Los Angeles Pacific University and is passionate about adventuring outdoors.

The Evolution of Our Faith | Freedom to Explore

Terry Sheldon April 11, 2025

This blogpost is about the "Three Cs": Curious and Courageous, then Change, and the personal freedom they all produce.

When I was a child, I acted as a child. I was curious and open to all possibilities. Actually we ALL were, because that's how we learn and grow. I gleefully maxed out my insane amount of kinetic energy and mirrored, then outran, my exhausted parents. All the while exploring anything and everything around me.

Then crashed into bed.

It was a time of wonder and awe. We were all so innocent, or so that was how I pleaded my case to my parents after my curiosity got me and my boy buddies into deep trouble. But wishful alibis aside, it was my fruitful imagination and my unspoiled enthusiasm, with the mysteries of my expanding world that turned me into a mini-explorer. But back to awe and wonder: I was practicing “beginner's mind.”

And I didn't realize it so, so young ago.

Beginner's mind is an idea shared with other faiths, and it refers to a practice of approaching situations with an open, eager, and unburdened attitude, free from preconceptions, just as a beginner would. It's exploring the world through childlike eyes.

Jesus understood childhood innocence and our spiritual formation, and famously told the disciples: "Unless you change your inner self - your old way of thinking, live changed lives and become like trusting, humble, and forgiving children, you won't find the kingdom of heaven."

For us all, exploration of the soul requires humility.

Author Richard Rohr puts it this way: "Beginner's mind is a non-grasping, patient and compassionate holding of truth, with the readiness for God and life to reveal even more of that truth - and the meaning of the truth as your life goes on. Beginner’s mind is always a humble mind, always knowing that it does not yet fully know". Or as the Apostle Paul humbly admits: "We see through the glass dimly".

And it takes courage.

Let's face it: Trying a haunted house for the first time pales in comparison to successfully navigating real love, hard suffering, and other essential matters of the heart. And if we are honest, both strike the fear of change into us. The older we get, the harder it is to make adjustments. Our open heart and mind tends to close down. What seemed like great fun when we were young, now is a struggle.

But really, change is always coming, coming, coming, like the light inside the tunnel. We don't get to decide whether it comes, but rather if it's negative - or works for our collective good.

And that's where freedom comes in.

When I was young, I used my adventuring to try and exercise my personal freedom. But too often it turned out to be an exercise in futility. I couldn't escape my personal pain (my escape clause). I was searching for deep answers to deep questions. And eventually I had to change my search from outside to in.

What I discovered was that freedom couldn't come from the searching, but from the waiting itself ... for the good answer. When I was ready, my Lord brought it to me. But I had to do the soul work first. Now, I haven't yet arrived at the station, but I do better to embrace the necessary change - even welcome it.

It all makes the outside journey more fun and fulfilling, as Colby and I get to visit other places and meet fellow soul travelers. It's always a mixture of hard work, embracing the unknown, and practicing generous assumptions.

I am back to the beginning, as it were - and it's so sweet!

Joshua 1:9
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

About the Author

He finds all of this fascinating and sees that it has encouraged the growth of something crucial in his Christian development: empathy and compassion toward his brothers and sisters on this planet.

The Evolution of Our Faith | Evolving Faith

John Rice March 28, 2025

Following Jesus truly is a lifelong journey, and he invites us to grow, question, stumble and change as we traverse it. We may not always be prepared for the twists and turns or the valleys and mountains, but we can trust that our God is big enough to hold our evolving perspectives of him. We just need to maintain a posture of openness to those evolutions as well.

I remember thinking, after first making the choice to give my life to Jesus, that all was settled. I was now a Christian and with a little cleaning up of my habits and thoughts here and there, my life would be kind of static… but in a good way. I thought all things would work out in the most positive way as long as I trusted God, prayed regularly and kept learning from the Bible.

After my graduation from college, I went to an evangelical study center in Switzerland called “L’Abri”. I listened to 30 cassette tapes (do you know what those are? 😊) that held teachings on all the basic doctrines of Christianity from an evangelical point of view. This was a time of massive learning, since I wasn’t raised with this kind of knowledge for the most part. I felt I was really growing in wisdom and knowledge. And I was growing, at least in knowledge, but there was one thing that bothered me in the teaching. I was told not to trust my experience; I should only trust in the Bible as God’s perfect and infallible Word. The problem with that for me was that I had had a couple of amazing experiences with God already that were answers to prayer, and both were sacred to me in my early life of faith.

Looking back, one of those experiences was kind of innocent and child-like. I had asked God to give me a flat tire on my Moped when I reached the place at which I was supposed to stay! (I was very open to anything at that point in my life.) Well, sure enough, after traveling all through Switzerland and Germany, I had a flat tire when I entered the little town of Eck en Wiel in the Netherlands, where a Dutch L’Abri was and where they needed a worker in their apple orchard. It was on my first day in Eck en Wiel that I met Laura, who was a few years later to become my wife! To me, that was an incredible experience and one that made me realize there were more ways of knowing and experiencing God than just understanding and believing in a particular biblical theology.

After moving to Eugene with Laura and going to Faith Center, a Foursquare Pentecostal Charismatic church, I saw there were other Believers who knew God answered prayer and could give us experiences of faith. The Holy Spirit was still alive and well and could even perform miracles. This was very exciting and ushered in a new chapter in my faith.

During the coming years, Laura and I were introduced to an Episcopal minister who taught Inner Healing Prayer. Both Laura and I were very blessed by this ministry and even began ministering in this way at our church. I surely thought “This is finally the way we are to function as Christians. This is what Christianity is all about…to see people healed of emotional trauma through prayer.”

A number of years later, learning and appreciating more about the Jewish roots of our faith, I got quite involved with this movement and even held Passover Seders at my house, explaining how Jesus was celebrating the Passover Seder when he took the bread and wine with his disciples before he was arrested and killed. (There is some differing opinion these days as to whether they had even instituted the Seder during Jesus’ day). Nonetheless, I felt this was what the Faith was all about… reconnecting with our Jewish roots, the olive tree into which we Christians have been grafted (Romans 11:17-21).

A few years later, I was introduced to the teachings of the Soul Formation Academy through readings and a number of 4-day retreats. This was an amazing time of learning to listen to God, to practice solitude, silence and contemplation in order to experience a growing unity with God. The emphasis was really quite different from the practices in the evangelical/charismatic churches I had been to and it opened the door into a greater sensitivity to God’s closeness, His love and to discernment of His will.

So what’s my point, in rambling through these stages of faith? For me at least, the point is that following Jesus is an incredibly dynamic journey! It’s not JUST about good biblical theology, not JUST about our experiences, not JUST about Inner Healing, not JUST about our Jewish roots, and not JUST about solitude, silence and contemplation. It’s about ALL of them, and probably many more things that I haven’t experienced (yet😊).

One of my favorite scriptures was written by King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. He writes about the turning of seasons and about the need for different responses to what life brings us through the years. I will include the Scripture here and, then, if you’re interested to hear a 1967 musical version of the scripture, put on your tie-died t-shirt and listen along to The Byrds, an American folk/rock band from the 60’s!

And above all, keep on listening to what the Lord is inviting you into during this season of your life!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

About the Author

Think About Such Things | We have a Choice

Mollie Havens March 14, 2025

What is your mind focused on? What do you dwell on when your thoughts tend to wander? Do you focus on your own abilities and ideas? It is easy to get caught up in our own capabilities and measure our self worth on our own perceptions or others’ input. But God calls us to fix our minds on things above. If we dwell on His excellence and glory, we are able to move mountains. Philippians 4:8 beckons us to ponder on thoughts that are true, honorable, worthy of respect, right, confirmed by God’s word, pure, wholesome, lovely, peaceful, admirable, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise. We are to continually think of these things and center our minds and hearts on them.

When you reminisce about the past, are you filled with regret or hope for the future? God is always doing something new, so don’t get caught up in what could have been. Fix your mind on what’s ahead. Yes, learn from the past, but don’t get discouraged or compare your current circumstances to what was. Be thankful for what the Lord has brought you through and hopeful for what is to come.

It is so easy to get distracted. So many things bombard us for our attention. But we have a choice. We can change our focus to what is commendable and worthwhile. It is a choice though. We have to consciously set our mind on heavenly things. When we think about what God is capable of - His omnipotent traits, then we will be filled with peace and hope. So don’t get bogged down by your problems or the mundane. Forget what lies behind but strain forward for what is ahead. Press forward towards his goal. Empty your mind. Clear space for what God has for you. Know that you have a heavenly calling. You are bound for beautiful and marvelous things. Keep your focus on the heavenly prize that awaits you, when you are finished running this race.

About the Author

Mollie is recently married to her wonderful husband Dustin. She is a Wound Care RN at McKenzie Willamette Hospital. She enjoys being creative, getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

Think About Such Things | What to do with the Time That is Given Us?

Jessie Carter February 28, 2025

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

This conversation between a hobbit and a wizard in the first book of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of my favorites. It gives me hope. If you’re not familiar with the books (or film versions), their world, Middle Earth, is in dire danger from a power-hungry ruler. Mighty warriors from various kingdoms and races (humans, elves, dwarves, etc.) fight to save it. But Middle Earth’s greatest hope lies in the hands of an unlikely hero: a hobbit.

Hobbits are the smallest of all the human-ish races in Middle Earth. Their land, the Shire, has enjoyed prosperity and peace for so long that they have no warriors anymore. They would rather tend their gardens and relax with friends in the local pub than go on an adventure or volunteer for a mission. But Frodo, inspired by his uncle Bilbo’s adventures and filled with the desire to save his beloved Shire, volunteers to do the impossible. He will take the dark lord’s magic ring to the heart of the dark lord’s land and destroy it.

The journey over the three books nearly destroys Frodo, both physically and mentally. How does he survive it? I can think of seven key advantages that helped him:

Encouraging friends. Most notably, his best friend and fellow hobbit Sam, who cheers him on and is possibly one of the most positive people in literary history. Sam has such great hope in the future that toward the end of their difficult journey to Mount Doom, Frodo discovers that Sam has saved rations of food for the return journey. Frodo is in shock, because he didn’t think they’d survive after their mission was complete. This jolt of hope gives Frodo the strength he needed to carry on. Sam isn’t the only one, though. Earlier in the story, the rest of their companions (called “the Fellowship”) each in turn encouraged and challenged Frodo along the way. Some of the Fellowship were powerful people (a wizard, two human warriors, a dwarf, and an elf), but I love that 4 of the 9 of them were friend hobbits from back home! Merry and Pippin could not be dissuaded from going with Frodo and Sam, because they cared about their friend.
Focusing on the beauty and joy of the world he was trying to save. This is also often thanks to Sam, who pointed out flowers in the midst of a devastated forest. Frodo also delighted in experiencing the beauty of the land and culture of the elves in his travels.
Group efforts. There are so many examples of this in the story, but even at the end, when it’s just Frodo and Sam trying to reach Mount Doom to destroy the ring, the rest of their Fellowship friends stage a battle elsewhere to draw out the enemies so Frodo and Sam can continue unhindered.
Seeing the best in people. Sam never liked Gollum, the creature who had possessed the ring previously and became consumed with it. He predicted (correctly) that Gollum would betray them. Yet Frodo gives Gollum much grace, thanks to a conversation with Gandalf about pity and compassion earlier in the story. Frodo trusted Gandalf’s instinct that Gollum would have an integral part to play in their mission. Spoiler alert: he did, pretty spectacularly!
A champion/hero/mentor. Frodo had some amazing people backing him, including Aragorn, the future king of Gondor. People have drawn parallels to Jesus regarding Aragorn, and while he doesn’t have divine power like Jesus does, he fought valiantly for Frodo’s sake. Gandalf the wizard also fought on Frodo’s behalf. Both Gandalf and Aragorn acted as mentors for Frodo in the first part of his journey, and he relied on their wisdom and philosophy of life in the rest of it.
Sanctuary. Along the way and after the war, Frodo encountered places of rest, safety, and healing. These included Rivendell and Lothlorien, magical places of beauty with the Elves, as well as the Houses of Healing in Gondor after the main war. After a final battle back home in the Shire, Frodo rests there and writes down his whole story. I believe this was not just to preserve it as a history, but also to process the trauma he has been through. Finally, he goes on one last journey: to Valinor, the Blessed Realm or Undying Lands where the immortal elves go to live forever.
Help from above. When Frodo and Sam have destroyed the ring, they are stranded on the erupting Mount Doom. There is a literary trope called Deus ex Machina (God in a machine) that was used in ancient Greek theatre to save the day at the last minute. It gets used frequently in fantasy literature and is panned as a bit of a cop-out. It’s been argued that the Great Eagles function in this role when they appear just in time to rescue Frodo and Sam from being swallowed up by lava. Also, fans of the books argue over whether or not the eagles could/should have just carried Frodo all the way in the first place. But I think Tolkien was telling us something about how God works (see below).

How can we apply these concepts to our lives in our modern world? I would love to hear your ideas. Here are mine for each of the items above:

Invest in friendships and communities that are supportive. The group that was entrusted to support Frodo’s mission was called a “Fellowship.” Churches and other places of community can provide that fellowship to encourage us. If you don’t have strong ties to one yet, please consider investing in one. Fellowships aren’t perfect; they’re made up of imperfect people. But a healthy one can work out its differences and faults together. Regarding personal friends, I’ve discovered that keeping friendships strong takes a lot more intention and action than it did when we were kids and saw our friends at school every day.. Take the time to strengthen your friendships. Send a “Hey, how are you” text or postcard. Invite a friend out for coffee or a hike. Call a long-distance friend just to chat while you wash dishes. It’s too easy in this busy world to neglect this important part of your life. Find little ways to grow friendships.
Notice and/or document the beauty and blessings in your life and world. Take photos of nature on a sunny day. Stop and smell the roses. Write a sentence or short list in a gratitude journal on a regular basis. Create art. Reflect on the ways that you see God working in your life or in the world.
Work with others on something that makes a difference in your community or the world. Collective efforts can make great changes where we can’t do much on our own. Find an organization that does something you believe in and contribute, or invite a group of friends to help you with a project.
Assume best intent. I learned that catchphrase at a diversity training once, and I still need to work on applying it to my life. The trainer taught us strategies to use when we are offended. First, assume people are not trying to harm you. Try to see from their perspective, even if we don’t agree with it. But if they have harmed us or someone else, we can say “Ouch” and gently let them know how their words hurt, even if they didn’t mean to. We can and should have healthy boundaries in place.
Fix our eyes on Jesus. We have a champion, and He has overcome the world! He is our Rock, our firm foundation. He has won the war, not with might but with love. He has overcome evil with good. When you’re scared or anxious, look to Him. (Telling this to myself at least. Please feel free to throw these words back at me when I’m fretting!) And God’s Holy Spirit is our counselor, guide, and mentor. We can pray for wisdom anytime.
Find places/moments of rest, peace, and debriefing. Soak in God’s presence during musical worship in the sanctuary of your church. Go for a walk in the woods. Attend therapy. Journal your experiences, good and bad, to process them. Spend time reading and reflecting somewhere sacred (once in a while, I spend an afternoon in the Retreat Center building at the Mount Angel Abbey). Visit mountains. And know that this world is not perfect, but someday we will be at perfect peace with God in Heaven.
Look to the sky. Not literally (it’s just atmosphere and outer space), but pray to the God of Heaven for miracles. We may not get rescued by giant eagles at the last minute, but we will be in God’s hands no matter what happens. His timing and plans are perfect and He has reasons for why He does things the way He does. Chris and I were talking the other day, and we think sometimes God lets us wait or partner with Him while we walk through difficulties instead of making things easy, so we’ll come to a point of complete dependence on Him. That’s why we think Tolkien had the eagles wait until the end to help. (Please remind me of that when I get anxious about finding a house before the house we’re renting gets sold!) Trust that He will work for our good and the good of the world. He is omniscient and all-powerful, and best of all, He loves us. He knows the story of the world and has it all under control.

When we feel like the weight of this world is too much, or too scary, let’s think of what Gildor the elf told Frodo: “Courage is found in unlikely places.” He could tell that hobbits had a hidden strength in them. Let us encourage each other by the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

Thanks for going on this journey with me! Verses that inspired my thoughts on this (NIV):

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:31
What then, shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8: 37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I also credit some of my inspiration from the book “Finding God in the Lord of the Rings” by Jim Ware and Kurt Bruner.

About the Author

Who Does God Say I Am? | Chosen: Handpicked from the Reject Pile

Aaron Friesen January 31, 2025

This week we are looking back at a blog post from January 2024. It is good to be reminded to look for who God says we are. God doesn’t see things the way we do. 1Samuel 16:7 says, “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

This past Advent season, I spent a lot of time thinking about how God chooses to use people and places and things that humans rejected for one reason or another. This is a major theme in the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. Bethlehem was considered the least of the towns in Judea. A stable would have been considered one of the least desirable places for travelers to stay the night in Bethlehem. A manger in a stable was a place for animals to feed, not people to sleep. Rural shepherds were not well educated and likely very poor - surely people unfit to welcome the Messiah into the world. Magi were foreigners who studied the sky and not the Hebrew Scriptures. Mary and Joseph were from the town of Nazareth that we are told had a reputation for producing nothing good.

In 2019, I got to go on a week-long walk with my wife, Heather, on an ancient path in Ireland. On our walk we passed by many very old walls, churches and sacred sites that had been carefully crafted out of stone. Imagine the work that went into building such a thing that is still standing over a thousand years later. Skilled masons get a pile of rocks from the ground nearby or a quarry and they begin sorting. Most of the stones can be used somewhere in the project, but some are just too oddly shaped, broken, or fragile to be used anywhere, and so they get sorted into a reject pile. Now imagine that somebody else comes to the build site and starts looking through the pile of rejected rocks for his own project. One of the masons says, “You’re not gonna find anything good in there,” but he keeps looking and inspecting anyway. He ends up picking up one of the discarded stones and pronounces, “This is it! This one will be the cornerstone.”

This almost absurd scenario is how Peter describes the ministry of Jesus. Quoting from Psalm 118, Peter says that Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected, and that this rejected stone has become the most important stone of all: the cornerstone (1 Peter 2:7). How can this be? Apparently, God knows something we don’t when it comes to choosing people. God chooses people based on a different and better system of evaluation, and this is what the prophet Isaiah foretold the Messiah would do (Isaiah 11:3-4). Because God’s way of evaluating is so different, God often ends up choosing people that others have sidelined or pushed out to the margins or ignored. Peter (the one that Jesus renamed “a rock”) goes on to say that we also are chosen in the same way that Jesus was chosen. God chooses to build a house of worship from people that others have rejected (1 Peter 2:4-5). Not only that, but God knows fully what it is like to be somebody who society or religion rejects or pushes to the side or ignores.

With all that in mind, what does it mean to be chosen by God?

First, to be chosen by God does not mean that I have checked the boxes that worldly or religious systems of performance have labeled as successful. It’s so easy for me to impose false systems of performance and success (social status, wealth, beauty, education, even religious performance) back onto God. So, before I get too excited about the amazing truth that I am chosen by God in Christ, I think I need to sit with the fact that God’s choice for me and others is based on a different kind of system of evaluation, a system that may look quite foolish or offensive to others. This is what Paul writes about in his letter to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

Second, to be chosen by God means that my purpose and identity as a human being are wrapped up in my relationship with God. I cannot expect to find true happiness or fulfillment through systems of success or performance that God, the one who chooses me, says are inappropriate or invalid. This seems to be an important part of the journey of all disciples - stepping out of wrong systems of evaluation and stepping fully into God’s way of evaluating people and places and situations. This is how Jesus was happily and wholeheartedly able to serve others even in the face of rejection. His identity was grounded in God’s priorities and the things that God said really mattered. We can’t do this move on our own, but we can with the help of the Holy Spirit in community.

Third, to be chosen by God means that I am bound to others through the love and grace of our common creator. The one who created me gets to have the final say about my value and worth and the value and worth of others. No other voice or system or person gets to do that. Humans often reject people and places because they don’t measure up in our shallow and frivolous categories of social status or religious performance. But, thankfully, God chooses differently. Sometimes, God chooses what I would reject in myself and others. Sometimes God looks at people that I would turn away from in disgust? or pass by without a second thought and says, “Prepare to be offended! That’s just what I need and want.” As I sit with and learn to accept my being chosen by God, I must also sit with and learn to accept God’s choice of others. I must allow the vast river of God’s grace and love for the world to erode away all the other ways that I might judge myself and others.

Questions for reflection:

How does God choose differently than me?
When I think about the truth that I am chosen by God, do I also think about that choice being based on God’s very different kind of system of evaluation?
Who are those people that I tend to overlook or mentally place in the reject pile and label as people whom God cannot use?
How can people on the margins of society teach me about God’s priorities and God’s values?
How have I made poor assumptions about God’s choice or rejection of myself or others?

About the Author

Aaron is a passionate seeker of God and truth, and he enjoys encouraging others in their own pursuits of the same. He especially likes to think about how God is at work in the most ordinary and mundane aspects of our existence. He loves going on adventures to new places with his wife, Heather, and four kids and his perfect day would involve an excellent cup of coffee (or two!), a hike to somewhere beautiful and serene, and some good conversation over a pint at a warm pub. He currently serves as an adjunct instructor at Portland Seminary and co-leads the CitySalt Kids’ Ministry along with his wife, Heather.

Self-Confidence! It’s Not Just for Pushy Jerks Anymore!

Professor Popinjay (Chris Carter) January 17, 2025

Today's Salt Blog takes a detour from our current writing theme for a guest post from our very own Chris Carter. Chris writes under the pen name Professor Popinjay for other writing outlets. Here the professor's whimsical writing style re-writes one of his published pieces about self-confidence unpacking his reason for, and invitation to self-confidence through his Christian faith.

It’s been said when we’re alone, we’re in bad company. It’s said artists are often their worst critics. Look at the lengths Van Gogh went just to avoid painting ears! We can be pretty hard on ourselves. But that harsh inner monologue doesn’t have to be so critical or mean or dismembering. You are part of God’s creation, carefully and wonderfully made!! You are grander than the Grand Canyon! You are greater than the Great Lakes! You matter more than the Matterhorn! You can like yourself, your choices, and your earless artwork! I won’t judge!

We all know at least one person who is super confident all the time even though they never drink coffee. Some of these types are arrogant jerks who boss people around. Others are more like Keanu Reeves.

But I’m not here to help you be like Keanu. That would take centuries and an indomitable will. Nevertheless, rest assured, by the time we’re done here you WILL think of yourself as a perfectly sculpted paragon of natural beauty and charisma… but also humble.

Many people are at extreme ends of the self-confidence spectrum. Some people believe a follower of Christ should be a pushover, accepting the four piece McNuggets (even though they paid for the ten piece) just to avoid an awkward situation. Others might become a tyrant, grabbing the cashier by the lapels, shaking them vehemently, and demanding satisfaction because they received a McNugget slightly smaller than the other McNuggets. Yes, the self-confidence spectrum is strangely McNugget oriented. Psychology is a bizarre and unfathomable science.

The Bible might say the meek shall inherit the Earth but it also says blessed are the peacemakers. We appoint delegates to negotiate compromise and accommodation between two countries to foster and maintain peace. Peace is never one group ruling over another. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement. In the same way, we can negotiate a mutually beneficial arrangement in a patient and compassionate way between ourselves and others. In other words, you can get your food order right and all parties involved can come out edified from the exchange. But this process requires a bit of confidence to achieve. One might call it strong meekness.

If you don’t “confide” in yourself then you’re obviously keeping secrets from yourself. But I’m a big blabbermouth. I’m going to tell you a secret. You are valuable, highly valuable, priceless even. And yet Life has been afforded to you (priceless as you are) for one reason. 1 Peter 1:18 says God has ransomed you! Despite all your imperfections and beautiful humanity: you are deemed worthy and Loved by God. You’re worth more to Him than a Faberge Egg with a side of Faberge Bacon.

Now you may ask: “What have I done to be so valuable?” Nothing! As cool as your 1st Place Trophy from the Belching Contest may be, self-confidence is not about your accomplishments. It’s about what you are. You are a beloved creation of God divinely imbued with the ability to reciprocate Love to Him, yourself and others!

Self-confidence is about your irrefutable CAPABILITIES! Here they are in a nifty little list:

You are capable of enabling others to see your value by affording to them that which was afforded to you (priceless life) and recognizing they are also more valuable than the aforementioned jewel-encrusted breakfast foods.
You are capable of maintaining your self-respect even in situations where others are repurposing your lunch for their own impromptu art installations.
You are capable of valuing those who do not yet value themselves (people like Pat Sajack and Tommy Lasorda).
You are capable of saying “no” when you want to say “no” and refusing to let others live vicariously through you by inflicting on you obligations that are not your responsibility. Shaving your boss’s back was not in the initial job description!
You are capable of walking right up to a cashier, smiling at them, and politely requesting a cheeseburger because you haven’t been given a spirit of fear but a sound mind and hungry belly!! And even though they laugh at your request because you didn’t realize you were at a law firm office, you can laugh with them because you know everyone makes mistakes and that’s okay. Sorry about all the fast food references. I haven’t had lunch yet.

Blows to our confidence do not only come from within. If someone is willfully and maliciously running you down verbally, pushing you down the stairs, bonking you on the head, stealing your Microsoft dinosaur cd-rom, kicking you in the buttocks, giving you a super-wedgie, and sticking your head in a toilet and flushing it so your hair looks like soft-serve ice cream, it can affect your confidence. Call these behaviors out! Talk to them or their mom or Henry Kissinger. If Kissinger is on your side, whom shall you fear?

In choosing to trust God to keep and defend us, instead of escalating the cycle of reciprocating pains inflicted on us, we not only soothe others but create an impenetrable shield against their misguided emotion-missiles, just like Captain America …and to a lesser extent, Captain Wisconsin, whose shield is made of cheese but is just as impenetrable.

Making the choice to be patient but assertive exercises and maintains your self-confidence muscle, located somewhere around your glutes. Working that muscle out, especially when first starting, can be a slow and tiring process. Try being assertive and polite in just one small aspect of life. Perhaps ask for more complimentary breadsticks. Gradually work your way up to telling the waiter he has gorgeous eyes. Just remember: baby steps!

Here are a few other ways to exercise your self-confidence muscle:

All your friends are wearing polyester leisure suits. You, however, are more of a unitard and ankle warmer kind of person. Choosing to don less funky vestments, despite the fact that everyone else has boogie fever, could be a great way of exercising that self-confidence muscle.
Contrariwise, perhaps staying in your comfort zone all the time might not be a benefit to your confidence. Maybe polyester leisure suits are the way to go… maybe add a huge gold medallion necklace and get a Jheri Curl? Own it you gorgeous disco queen! Just be sure your inward adornment is gentle and quiet even if you are wearing loud pants.
One who never takes responsibility for their mistakes makes others want to bap you with their claws. The cat already disrespects you enough as it is. Be brave, own up to your smells and the consequences. Your confidence will thank you. Your cat will hork a hairball next to your bed by way of gratitude.
Don’t toot your own horn. People love having their horn tooted by someone else but usually hold others in contempt for frequently tooting their own. Just leave your horn alone, please! And when someone does toot your horn for you just say thank you and maybe curtsy a bit.
Projecting a friendly and gentle countenance while interacting with people will speak volumes over mere eye contact. Too often, motivated go-getters hear the importance of eye contact and adopt a soul-piercing gaze that not only makes others intensely uncomfortable but compels them to protect their jugular. Just be friendly and human! Don’t exsanguinate people!
Ask questions! There are no stupid questions and if someone is making you feel stupid for asking stupid questions tell them they’re stupid for making people feel stupid. Okay maybe don’t call them stupid per sé, but definitely imply as much indirectly. Okay, don’t do that either. When you can confidently answer other people’s stupid questions without making them feel stupid, congratulations, you’re confident and you have people’s confidence and you’re strengthening your self-confidence… confidently.

Self-confidence, when done right can be infectious, but don’t worry about covering your mouth when you have this affliction. Give it to everyone you know just like chicken pox!

Remember: You are Loved. So Love yourself. And then Love others as you Love yourself. You have nothing to fear and shall walk confidently through a dark world spreading His light by making peace with all you encounter. Meekness is not submission. It’s powerful.

Proverbs 3:26
For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.

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Think About Such Things | Ordinary Holiness

John Rice January 3, 2025

We are bombarded with all kinds of content, ideas, judgments, images and words, every single day. While we might encounter beautiful and good things, there is also pain and discouragement. But God invites us to proactively turn our heart and mind to the goodness that He is freshly creating each moment. The Salt Blog team is inviting you to join us in considering the true things, noble things, right things and pure things as we savor what God wants to share with His children.

Have you ever thought about… thinking? What do you spend most of your time thinking about? Have you noticed how your thinking makes you feel?

Driving to my home in the country from the city, do I see the hills, the sky, the forests and fields, the cows and horses? Do I really see them? Do I recognize how much the amazing gift of life is represented in all these things? Or do I just ruminate on problems to solve and things to do, with a load of wondering if I did such-and-such well or poorly, or what someone said or didn’t say to me? Do I compulsively roll around thoughts of what is happening around our country and the big, wide world, even about places I’ve never been to and will probably never go to?

Yes, these are often the thoughts that fill my head and cause me, more often than not, to feel discouraged, sad, angry, confused and a host of other feelings that basically bring me down. On my trip home, these kinds of thoughts are what fill my brain! With a mind and heart stuffed full with such thoughts and feelings, there’s not much room left for noticing the magnificence of God’s Creation all around me!

The apostle Paul apparently understood very well this tendency of human nature to get lost in negative thoughts. He writes in his letter to the Philippians (

Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Such powerful words! One surprising thing that Paul assumes is that we actually have some control over what we fill our heads with. We are not victims of random, negative, ruminating thoughts. How wonderful is that? We are more powerful than we think we are if we put into practice some of the ways Paul recommends us to live. And what an amazing promise: keeping our minds on the good things (that are every bit as real as the negative things, maybe even more so), will bring us into the peace of God.

One thing that’s true, but that’s so easy to miss, is the holiness all around us in our ordinary lives. Is holiness something that is only found in church or in spiritual mountaintop experiences or miracles (think: Moses’ burning bush)? Is holiness found only during the big milestones of our lives like a “salvation experience” or falling in love or childbirth or the passing of a loved one? Or can we experience holy moments while hiking, while cooking or gardening, while watching our child’s first soccer game, while riding our bike, while working at our job…while doing the dishes!

I mention dishwashing on purpose, since that was the occupation of Brother Lawrence, a 17th century French monk whose job it was to wash dishes in his monastery kitchen. He is still known and read today by his writings, put together in book form entitled Practicing the Presence of God. He would say that washing dishes can be a holy moment by doing so fully in the awareness of the presence of God who is always with us, always surrounding us. In other words, it’s not our circumstances or our environment that makes a moment holy; it’s the presence of God that makes it holy. And that can be anywhere at any time!

Brother Lawrence took the apostle Paul’s words seriously. He put into his daily practice the strength of his faith, that God walks with us every day, all day, no matter the circumstances. Certainly bad things happen in our lives and in the lives of others. We have to address these things with wisdom, perseverance and the right amount of attention. But to allow ourselves to be overcome with them threatens to throw us off our center, which is with our God who is the Center of everything.

The author Barbara Brown Taylor puts it this way:
“Earth is so thick with divine possibility that it’s a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.”

Surely there are “altars” all around us if we open our eyes and let the Holy Spirit show us the holiness in the ordinary things of our lives.

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Who Is Our Rock? | Finding a Firm Foundation

Jessie Carter December 20, 2024

Gardening metaphors are great. Poker metaphors are plentiful. But I love the earth sciences, so my life metaphors usually involve rocks or volcanoes, and occasionally tornadoes. I love that Jesus told the parable of the house built on a rock vs. a house built on sand!

Jesus didn’t pull that idea out of thin air, though. He knew the Scriptures, which at that time were just the Old Testament. Several Psalms point out that God is our rock, including Psalms 18 and 40. I’ve been singing them and other songs lately to feel more grounded.

Another one, Psalm 46, doesn’t explicitly say God is our rock. Instead, it lists several end-of-the-world worst-case scenarios, yet reminds us that God is still in control. I don’t know about you, but I need this right now! Reading the news, I am terrified. But these verses reassure me. I’ll include the actual Psalm at the end of this post, but here is a short song I know from the church I grew up in:

God is our refuge and strength; He is our helper in trouble (repeat)
We will not fear, though the earth give way, and the mountains fall to the sea
We will not fear, though the nations roar and war continues to be

I love that this song/Psalm includes natural catastrophes as well as human atrocities. No power in the world is bigger than God. I also love the idea that He is our refuge. In addition to God being our rock, Psalm 18 also uses the metaphor of Him being a fortress. This recalls some of the castles and fortresses I saw while living and traveling overseas. Some were built in the low land or cities. But many were built on solid hills. The highest one I saw (and hiked up to) was the Red Fort/City (Shahr-e-Zohak) near Bamiyan, Afghanistan. This fortress was high and strong enough to defeat the hordes of Ghengis Khan’s grandson. Having a firm foundation on a huge solid rock can make a difference.

Our current world of politicians, policies, programs and others usually mean well. But they can be shifting sands: strong enough to walk on for a bit, like hiking at the coastal dunes. But that is exhausting, and the path can be confusing. I don’t want to be on those dunes if a tsunami or storm hits. I hope to stand high on basalt, that dark strong stuff made by volcanoes. My rock is Jesus, my fortress, my refuge.

Psalm 46:1-7
God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
Though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts His voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 18: 1-3, 19, 30-33
1-3: I love you, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

19: I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.
He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

30-33: As for God, His way is perfect: the Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.
For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He causes me to stand on the heights.

About the Author

Who is Our Rock? | Stand Firm

Mollie Havens December 6, 2024

When I was little, I learned a song in Bible School about the wise man that built his house upon the rock and when the rains came down, the house on the rock stood firm. However, the foolish man built his house upon the sand and when the floods came his house went SPLAT! Growing up, that truth stuck with me. I learned how if I put my hope and trust in the LORD, when the storms of life come I can stand firm because Christ is my foundation and my fortress. He draws me out of deep waters and sets my feet on higher ground.

He is true to His promises, which shows that we can trust in Him and He will never fail us. These are just a few of His promises:

Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
Isaiah 26:3 He will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in Him.
Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

There are times when I put my trust in myself, or in money, or in another person, and I am always let down. The things of this earth can not hold up to the troubles that come. What are you finding your security in besides God? How can you take that faith and place it on the one who always stands the test of time?

In Psalm 125, it says that “Those who trust in and rely on the Lord [with confident expectation] Are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but remains forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.” So when we trust in the LORD, he makes us like his Son. We cannot be shaken because he is always faithful and trustworthy and always comes through for his children. His plans always prevail and never fail.

About the Author

Who is Our Rock? | Jesus: A Rock to Build On or Stumble Over?

Aaron Friesen November 15, 2024

Where do I find stability in life? How do I build a secure and prosperous future for myself and my family? When everything around me seems shaky and uncertain, how can I find something trustworthy and reliable to guide my decisions? These are primal questions to which we all seek answers, and the conclusions we come to about these questions have a snowball effect in our lives. Not having answers to these questions can be a source of great anxiety and fear. Answers that seem unrealistic or unattainable can bring depression, hopelessness and despair.

For a Christian, the obvious answer to these questions is Jesus. Jesus is our rock and our firm foundation. He is the one upon which we build a secure future. How many songs that we sing at church declare this truth?

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand…

Jesus, you’re my firm foundation,
I know I can stand secure…

Christ is my firm foundation,
The Rock on which I stand…

But, what does this mean that Jesus is my Rock? For most of my life, when I’ve sung these kinds of songs at church, I’ve tended to think of this “Rock” and the “Firm Foundation” as referring to a confession of faith in Christ. My profession of faith in Christ makes my present and future life secure in Him. While I believe that is a true statement, I have come to realize that it only captures one part of what is a dynamic, lengthy and scary process of building and rebuilding to find stability on the Rock of Jesus Christ.

While a confession of faith is a critically important starting point, it is just that: a starting point. And this important starting point cannot be separated from the actions that naturally flow out of a sincere confession. The confession of Jesus as Messiah is the firmest foundation upon which I can start to build, but it is the actions that naturally flow out of that confession that will make my life strong and durable over the long haul.

Jesus was very clear about this. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7, Jesus told a short parable about two kinds of builders in life. One was wise, and the other was foolish. The difference between the wise and foolish builders was not that one listened to Jesus and the other did not. They both listened, but it was the wise builder who listened and put into practice what Jesus taught. Strength, security and stability in life comes to those who do their best to put into practice the things that Jesus says to do. Stability is found in the doing, not the hearing or the thinking or even the speaking.

This distinction between words and actions wouldn’t be much of an issue for me except that so many of Jesus’s teachings counter ways in which I tend to think that I will build a secure future for myself.

The disciple, Peter, is a perfect illustration of this struggle. In Matthew 16, Jesus changed Peter’s name from Simon, which means “listen” or “hearing,” to Peter, which means “rock.” It is Peter’s confession of faith in Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16)” that leads Jesus to change Peter’s name. Upon changing his name, Jesus uses a play on words to make a prophetic statement about Peter’s future: “Upon this rock I will build my church.” Peter’s confession is the rock. His confession of Jesus as Messiah and Lord is a starting point upon which Jesus can build a strong church. But, it is only a starting point. Peter immediately struggles to follow through on his confession. In the very next exchange, Jesus tells his disciples about how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer and die, and Peter responds by rebuking Jesus: “No way! May it never be!” Peter can’t understand how suffering and death could possibly be the will of God for the Messiah. Peter’s rebuke leads Jesus to call him another kind of rock: a stumbling block! One minute Peter is the strong rock upon which the church is built. The next he is a rock that is aligned with Satan and getting in the way of Jesus’s mission and calling. Can you relate to this? I sure can!

The importance of actions that align with words is profoundly illustrated in the exchange between Peter and Jesus. A confession of faith in Christ only produces stability in our lives over the long haul as we do our best to adjust and make changes to align our lives to Jesus, even when His way seems odd or strange or unsettling to us. This is the true cost of discipleship – learning to submit our usual ways of seeking security and stability for ourselves (through things like hoarding possessions, military power, social position, and economic independence) to God’s ways (vulnerability, peacekeeping, servanthood, and generosity). It is through a willingness and commitment to take simple, daily actions consistent with those principles that Jesus taught and lived, even when they might seem like utter foolishness and ”a stumbling block” on the path of wise living (1 Cor 1:20-25), that makes Jesus a firm foundation in the inevitable storms of our lives.

About the Author

Who is Our Rock? | God Rocks!

Terry Sheldon October 25, 2024

God is our rock!

What a big, bold and beautiful symbol that is. We've heard it repeatedly over the years. Jesus referenced it with his house-on-the-rock comparison and it's certainly something for us to hold on to when things get shaky. Yes God is a rock.

But our lives are rocky.

He built the cosmos, so large and complex that even our math equations can't translate it from mere ideas to what we can perhaps begin to fathom. God is big, and his ways, even bigger. But the seemingly endless void of space and our earthly world can be violent. As we've recently seen, concrete isn't a sure thing in a hurricane. At times like this the comfort of rock-solid hope can break down.

God certainly does save us from harm. But there are times when he doesn't, right? And in that suffering, the drama of our collective humanity plays out. Our biggest fears are exposed, and the suffering will test us. We are forced to choose between hope and despair. Then what we hope for now shifts to whom.

His promise is to always show up.

A few weeks ago Colby and I were in Zion National Park, a place with the most beautiful pastel sandstone cliffs and slot canyons in the world. We were descending into a steep and deep canyon, then hiking up many miles through a stream to an iconic spot - The Subway. Unfortunately we miscalculated the distance and effort needed, and ended up hiking the last two miles back downstream in the dark - exhausted, out of water and with only one working headlamp.

It was one of the hardest days I can remember.

The darkness had now removed all our precious landmarks on the canyon rim above, and we were not sure exactly where the trail was, up and out of our canyon. I was worried and needed to calm down, so we sat down by the stream. I told her there was a chance we would have to spend the night down here, and wait for help in the morning. Her pretty face held a quiet resolve and she wasn't ready to give up. But we needed help.

Side note: Colby has collected big and small heart-shaped rocks for years. Earlier in the day I found a large one, about the size of a basketball. I took a picture of it and we moved on. Now after our rest stop, as we were sloshing across the creek to the other side, hoping to catch our trail out of the canyon, she suddenly squealed.

About the Author

He finds all of this fascinating and sees that it has encouraged the growth of something crucial in his Christian development: empathy and compassion toward his brothers and sisters on this planet.

Who is Our Rock? | Christ, the Solid Rock

John Rice October 9, 2024

The chorus of the well-known hymn begins with the lyrics: “On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.” This is the topic the City Salt Blog Team wants to explore in the coming weeks. And what a timely topic this is, given the unrest in the world and in our own country. Where do we place our ultimate trust? Where do we stand? Where do we build our house, on shifting sands or solid rock? As Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it crashed with a great crash.”

Jesus says we are to both hear his words and put them into practice in order to have a firm foundation. But what were these words Jesus was referring to? Well, there were a lot! Starting in Matthew 5, Jesus begins his most famous Sermon on the Mount by turning the world on its head and revealing who is blessed (and by contrast, who is not.) Then he mentions many other topics:

Salt and light, the fulfillment of the law, murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, an eye for an eye, love for our enemies, giving to the needy, how to pray, how to fast, where our treasures are, do not worry, judging others, asking/seeking/knocking, the narrow and wide gates, true and false prophets, true and false disciples….and THEN he mentions the wise and foolish builders. Apparently there are a lot of words Jesus wants us to hear!

But in another Scripture passage, Jesus simplifies all this for us by responding to a teacher of the law who asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. In Mark 12:28-31, we read:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this. ‘Hear o Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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.”

If you look back at all those words Jesus spoke during or after the Sermon on the Mount, you can see that all these topics would be finer details stemming from the greatest commandments!

The point of all this is that if we want to build our house on a firm foundation (metaphorically speaking), we need to start by loving God, following him with all we’ve got, loving our neighbors (which means e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e. (Look at the Good Samaritan story in Luke 10:25-37) and, last but not least, loving ourselves in a good and healthy way.

In many places right now, the world is on fire. We in the USA are not immune from the dangers of fire. In fact, we have our own version ablaze in politics, culture wars, religious beliefs, racism and all the other “-isms.”

Surely, we have to decide where we stand in these areas in accordance with our beliefs and convictions. But do we place all our confidence and energies in these outcomes? With American politics as an example, is the next elected president (whoever that may be) our true Savior? Will the world come to an end if So-and-So is elected? Or will that person solve all our problems and be our deep peace that is beyond all understanding, as the Bible says? No! To be good citizens involved in our democratic system, we should do our research, weigh the options and vote. But if that is our only hope, that’s like building our house on sand. God alone is the solid rock and our firm foundation. We can be “in the world” by participating in it, as Jesus indicated when he told the Pharisees to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). But we aren’t “of the world” in the sense that our home is truly with God and in his kingdom. That’s our deepest home!

This brings us back to the second half of Jesus’ admonition: putting his words into practice. In the political example mentioned above, this might mean showing respect for those who vote differently from you, no matter how strongly you disagree. How hard it is to follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbors, even more so our enemies! But if we believe him, he will make it possible and we will experience our home standing firm when the storms come.

About the Author

Living in Our Moments | Shepherding the Mistiness of Life

Aaron Friesen September 27, 2024

In June, my son and I got to go on a backpacking adventure along the coastline of northern California. On the drive down to our starting point, we got to stop in an old growth Redwood grove outside of Crescent City for lunch. A posted sign told us that the oldest tree in the grove was well over 2,000 years old! Standing next to something that big that has been alive on this earth for that long had a way of putting my small human life into perspective. I found the experience of my smallness and the tree’s largeness strangely grounding. It was both awe inspiring and comforting to experience the cool shade and woody smells that originated from a seed that germinated and took root in this spot in the dirt even before Jesus Christ walked the earth. It calmed my restless spirit to know that it had been growing ever since. Through all the wars, explorations, colonizing, empires, fires, earthquakes, and technological advances of the last two millennia, this tree had found enough water, sunlight, nutrients, oxygen and space to keep living and keep growing.

As we packed up our lunch stuff and left the grove that afternoon, I wondered to myself why something that made me feel so small could also make me feel so secure and at peace within myself. I think it is because the tree put me in my place; the place God intended for me all along as a human being. Touching the bark layers of a 2,000-year-old organism dissolved some of the unspoken (and unnatural) desires and expectations for grandiosity, transcendence and influence that I cling to for dear life, burdens which God never intended for me or anybody else to carry. Somehow, that simple encounter with the tree helped to redirect my attention from all the things I was not doing by being gone on this trip, to being truly present with my son and God’s wild creation for the remainder of our time together.

The wisdom that this tree bark spoke to me that afternoon echoes the wisdom spoken by the writer of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 in the NIV translation says this:

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

The word that the NIV translates as “meaningless” is the Hebrew word hebel. It literally means “mist” or “vapor.” It is like foggy breath on a cold day that disappears in just a few seconds. This is a very important word in the Book of Ecclesiastes, and translating the word as “meaningless” makes many of the passages in Ecclesiastes take on a very different meaning than what I think was likely intended by the author. The writer was not intending to convey the idea that life is pointless and without meaning, but that life is short and fleeting. The writer is trying to put human beings in their place (their God-given place!), by confronting them with the reality of the shortness of life “under the sun” and the fact that there is much about life (including the number of our years, our legacy, and our wealth) that we cannot control, and so it’s best to receive it all as a gracious gift from God.

In reminding the wise reader of the fleetingness and shortness of human life, the writer is not intending to be a downer, but a reality check that encourages one to bask in and savor the simple pleasures of life – things like a hard day’s work, a loving spouse, friendship, laughter, yummy food and drink, and a good night’s sleep.

In his book, How to Inhabit Time, James K. A. Smith summarizes the wisdom that the author of Ecclesiastes gives us in the face of our not so human desires to want to transcend or control history and bend it to our will:

“This is not a counsel of despair or resignation but rather an invitation to reframe expectations so that I can ‘enjoy’ what’s before me, who is with me, fleeting as their presence might be. The question isn’t whether we can escape this condition but how we will receive our mortality, how we will shepherd what’s fleeting yet given.”(1)

That’s what that old Redwood tree was helping me to remember- to consider my mortality in a good way so that I would shepherd the misty moments right in front of me as a wonderful and precious gift from our Creator.

(1) James K. A. Smith, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2022), 103.

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Psalm 139 (NLT) For the choir director: A psalm of David, and a prayer of Mollie

The following is Psalm 139 with Mollie’s own prayer woven in. It invites the reader to consider how personal the Scriptures can be.

Occasionally we ‘rerun’ a blog post. We are blessed to have a talented group of writers who are sensitive to the voice and heart of the Lord through the seasons of their lives. What they have to share is worth repeating! This is one such blog post. Enjoy!

CitySalt Church

Celebrate Goodness

**Psalm 139 (NLT) For the choir director: A psalm of David, and a prayer of Mollie**