The call to steward whatever we have with all faithfulness is a lesson that I learned in the most difficult time of my life, when I lost my daughter Ellie on her eighth day of life. I knew she was going to die. So I had to decide how I was going to live inContinue reading “Stewarding with Faithfulness”
Author Archives: Robbie
Community, Reality to Live, Not Ideal to Create.
When you think about Christian community do you think about something that the Christian church must primarily foster or create? Is Christian community a culture that each individual must contribute to in order to achieve a certain kind of genuine and interconnected love and service? If that is the case, then certainly the Christian orContinue reading “Community, Reality to Live, Not Ideal to Create.”
No News is Good News
When I was a child growing up in the 90s and continuing to grow up through adolescence in the 2000s, I wanted fun and adventure in my life without bounds or limits. The antonym to fun and adventure, the very representation and embodiment of boredom, that great dragon, was the news. Most nights the 6Continue reading “No News is Good News”
Community S2:Ep11. On Christmas.
It just so happened that today (Christmas 2020!) I watched Community S2:Ep11 “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”. I knew I was in for some cringing but Community makes you want to watch through their episodes to get to the next because they are mostly so well made! But it is not without its cringe biscuits. And hereContinue reading “Community S2:Ep11. On Christmas.”
The Ironic Experience of Reading Psalm 119
I am not a naturally skilled reader. I also don’t enjoy reading a whole lot. It’s taken a good deal of intentional habit-building to start developing any semblance of wholesome habitual reading in my life. Perhaps you could call this a character deficiency. At any rate, it has put me in a funny spot asContinue reading “The Ironic Experience of Reading Psalm 119”
Psalm 91 and our Arbitrary Literalism
The Psalm of the season is clearly Psalm 91. It lifts our eyes up from our circumstances and calls us to call God, “my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” In a year as tumultuous as this, these words ought to be regularly uttered by us Christians. However, there are someContinue reading “Psalm 91 and our Arbitrary Literalism”
To Have and to Have-Not.
There is a sentiment in society today that success perpetuates success. You acheive to display acheivement, which leads to more acheivement to display all the more, which leads… This is all very well and good, appropriate and understandable (we all do this to varying degrees). But it does become a little bit more difficult whenContinue reading “To Have and to Have-Not.”
Grief in a ‘pleasure v pain’ world
Mark Vroegop in his book on lament “Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy” writes this, “Finding an explanation or a quick solution for grief, while an admirable goal, can circumvent the opportunity afforded in lament – to give a person permission to wrestle with sorrow instead of rushing to end it.” (p.19) This quote got me thinkingContinue reading “Grief in a ‘pleasure v pain’ world”
Virtue Signaling and Psalm 26
We probably all feel that natural and ironic cringe when we encounter virtue signalling and moral grandstanding. When you meet that person and within three minutes you know they are a Minimalist and all the ethical reasoning behind their choice. How righteous! And now the right hand knows what the left hand is doing, whichContinue reading “Virtue Signaling and Psalm 26”
To Ponder Suffering
As I ponder upon the magnitude and intensity of human suffering – specifics, generalisations, through history, at this very moment – I shake my head. Sometimes there are no words. Who can truly fathom it? Who can really give an exhaustive answer? Only God. In our limited experience we can do not much more thanContinue reading “To Ponder Suffering”
Bigvai and Shiphrah 