Church Street

Church neighboring daily life.

Full Blog Index

Featured
church-st-princeton.jpg
Church Street, Princeton
Read more →
PXL_20211227_122327849.jpg
It would be just like him

The God of the Bible looks like Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. It would be just like him to go to the cross.

Read more →
Hania_Rani.png
Practicing Our Scales

Imagine if our walk with Christ, representing his kingdom in the world, were as practiced and pure as Hania Rani’s fingers on the piano keys.

Read more →
rescue.png
Rescue

I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.

Read more →
hydrangea.jpg
Your Roots Are Showing

The life that I bring to the world can only be found in my attachment to Christ. His presence with me is essential.

Read more →
Disconnect.jpg
Connection

I live in a U.S. county with traffic problems. It's a peninsula, and what's not swamp land has been developed. Building new roads is difficult and expensive. Making things worse, roads that could connect don't.

Read more →
Knowing Knowing

The Most Famous Verse

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ⏤ John 3:16 NIV

Whoever believes in (has faith in, trusts) God's Son shall have eternal life. They shall know God.

Read More
Knowing Knowing

What is Eternal Life?

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." ⏤ John 17:3 NIV

Here, Jesus is praying before being arrested and going to the cross. His disciples are with him, and he defines eternal life (aiōnios zōē) for them. "This is eternal life." Eternal life = knowing God.

Read More
Living Living

Bewilderness

A dog barked in a distant hollow. Truck tires crunched on a gravel road far away. The woods were peaceful, but I was getting a little panicked.

It was the end of a November day that had started well before dawn, frosty and moon-shadowed. I was a teen boy outdoors in the Appalachian forests and fields with my father, uncle, and one of their buddies. Now, several hours later, darkness was settling back in. And I was lost. I knew the woods well but had crossed the wrong ridge, and nothing looked familiar. A dog barked in a distant hollow below. Truck tires crunched on a gravel road far away. The woods were peaceful, but I was getting a little panicked. I backtracked, crossed the correct ridge, and returned to safety. Once I recognized the familiar, I settled down and could navigate the right path.

ISO400 24mm f10 1s

Life is like this. There are a lot of uncertainties. Today, some in my family are facing employment questions. Others are dealing with health issues. Add to these the crosswinds in society. It's unsettling.

Bewildering events remind me to practice the primary spiritual discipline of finding Jesus. Throughout the Gospel narratives, Jesus slips away from people's notice. His parents lost track of him when he stayed behind in the synagogue. Jesus escaped crowds who wanted to make him king or to find a place of solitude with the Father. Outside his tomb, he appeared as a gardener. On the way to Emmaus, he looked like an uninformed traveler. He may even be disguised as the poor, marginalized, hungry, thirsty, or unsheltered. To feel secure and properly oriented, I need to find him. That's always my first task when I am in the wilderness. He might calm the tempest. But even if the storms continue to rage, he will be a secure foundation, provided I remain. Jesus never really leaves. He never forsakes. He's probably looking for me, too. So, where is Jesus?

Read More