Ordinary Grace Blog
The Latest Posts
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More Like Bruce
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble.” –Proverbs 11:2 “Seven Deadly Sins.” Some of you are familiar with that term from Roman Catholic theology. It speaks of actions that can be harmful for one’s spirit–pride, greed, lust, and more. Only recently did I learn that there is a companion list
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To Tell or Not?
“Then Moses was afraid and thought, ‘Surely the thing is known.’’ –Exodus 2:14b The verse above comes from a day when a secret about Moses ends. Exodus 2 tells us of that moment and several other unknown events in that man’s life that preceded and followed it. Some of those secrets come to light and
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The Generational Gift
“Why are you…placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors or we have been able to bear?” –Acts 15:10 The Biblical verse above comes from a day the first church governing body had a critical decision to make. Each of the men on that council was part of the initial
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Moments of Wonder
“The LORD your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below.” –Joshua 2:11b More than twenty years ago, Lori and I were keeping a secret. After numerous conversations with the search committee from a Presbyterian church in Pennsylvania, there came the moment we knew I was going to the recommended candidate for
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An End to Buffering
“Do you have eyes and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?” –Mark 8:18 This post goes live on Super Bowl Sunday. In the region where I live, there is a clear hope the result of the game this time around will be different than when the same teams met two
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A Living Psalm
“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” –Psalm 100:5 The 100th Psalm is one of my favorites. As a pastor I often used it to open a worship service as the words are so fitting for such occasions. “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all
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Our Words Matter
“Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up…” –Ephesians 4:29a It’s been cold. As I write these words, we have just concluded a week in Southeast Pennsylvania with multiple days of single-digit temperatures. We just had our first significant snowfall, too. While I enjoy the change
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Time to Act
“Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” –Matthew 19:14 One of the joys for me in retirement is having more time to read. It isn’t a new love. As a child, my mother often found me reading a
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Seeing the Truth
“One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” –John 9:25 One of my favorite Biblical scenes recalls a day when Jesus restores sight to a man who has been blind from birth. The narrative fills the entire ninth chapter of John’s gospel. In it, the author describes the most hands-on
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The Best Place to Start
“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” –2 Timothy 3:16 Some of you will recall from a September post that my first full-time job after college was with the Bell System. I started at an office in Gastonia, North Carolina, but after