July 2009 – Page 3 – 300 words a day

Of course he does

Sometimes we promise more that our friends want to deliver. “Of course he’ll buy you supper.” “Of course we can help you move next Tuesday.” “Of course he likes t-shirts with funny sayings.” “Of course he pays the temple tax.” The temple tax? Yes. Everyone over 20 in Israel was counted. When they were counted, […]

by Jon Swanson

it is going to get worse

Jesus told the disciples that he was going to come back to life. They were filled with grief. Isn’t it peculiar how looking at a portion of a text can create a false impression? What the text in Matthew 17 actually says is, “When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son […]

by Jon Swanson

meanwhile, back on ground level

You and I are different. Okay, so I may slightly more different than you, but each of us is different from each other. Things that you are competent at, I’m not. Things that I am, you aren’t. As a result, each of us will be going through different training programs for our trust at different […]

by Jon Swanson

What do you want.

It is the ultimate customer service question. “What do you want?” It creates options, it provides choices. We love to hear this, usually, because it means that, for a moment, our wishes are at the center of the universe. We get to say, “I want that.” It is the ultimate relationship speed bump. “What do […]

by Jon Swanson

how long do you have to follow

Perseverance. I watched that honored last night. Not perfection, because there are likely stories about each of these people that illustrated the lack of perfection. Not prominence, because most of these people were leaders of really small groups. Nope, what was honored was perseverance. Having the belief that Jesus said, “follow me” and living a […]