Ordinary Grace Blog
The Latest Posts
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Telling the Story
“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received.” –1 Corinthians 15:3a Year ago, a friend of mine met a young woman whom he liked immediately. It was one of those times when two people were instantly comfortable with each other and soon they began to spend every…
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The Ones Who Inspire
“We want each of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end.” –Hebrews 6:11 Without even counting two full-time vocational chapters, my working life has been quite diverse. During the summers between school years I bagged groceries and mowed grass, worked as a lifeguard…
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When Patience Wins
“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” –John 20:29 Before my final year of seminary, I worked as an intern at a church in Prince George, Virginia. One of my roles was to plan and oversee the congregation’s youth ministry. In…
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Going for Broke
“Be on your guard against all kinds of greed” –Luke 12:15 While living in North Carolina, I had a friend named Jack with whom I regularly played golf. We did so as part of a quartet consisting of that 70 year old who still worked in the uniform rental industry, a retiree named Bill who…
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A Life of Temperance
“Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.” –1 Corinthians 9:25 For a short time after college, I lived in a small town west of Charlotte. During my one summer there, the biggest local topic was a referendum coming up in November. What was…
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Strengthening Our Bones
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” (NIV) –Proverbs 14:30 In the spring of my junior year in high school I ran for president of the student government association. Looking back, I’m not sure why. I had never been involved in the SGA before. Perhaps I took that…
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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…