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First Sunday of Advent

From Wilshire Advent Devotions 2015

Hope is a precarious proposition. The moment we place our hope in something or someone, we set ourselves up for disappointment. That is partly because of our mistaken understanding of the word. We throw “hope” around like a blessing or a prayer – “Hope it goes well” or “Hope you have a great time” or “Hope you find what you’re looking for” – but the word is really about “maybe” and “possibly” and “there’s a chance” if everything goes right.

Continue reading “Hope”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Thanksgiving week is here and it’s like walking out on the beach and seeing a big whale spread across the sand. We know it’s there because it’s so big, and we want to say something about it but it’s so obvious to everyone that we doubt we could say anything new or interesting about it. Especially in a year like this, when we have so much to be disappointed in and sad about. Like with that whale, there’s a heavy odor that has overwhelmed just about everything this year. 

Continue reading “A Whale of a Year”

My hips and ankles were sore after spending an hour on my knees. Not in prayer, but in repairing my lawn edger. The blade had quit turning and I figured out what was wrong and ordered a new part, and while I was waiting for that to arrive, the yard was looking as shaggy as the hair on the back of my neck. The part arrived on a Sunday afternoon – a rare reason for an “alleluia” in these troubled times – but I waited till Monday to install it. I’m not sure if that was reverence for the sabbath or fear-based procrastination.

Continue reading “On Bended Knees”