with devotion

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96653532026-02-16T07:42:27.749-06:00with devotionfrom my heart to yourskc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17440862813109808755noreply@blogger.comBlogger1893125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-41208873472509137062025-12-10T11:18:00.000-06:002025-12-10T11:18:52.911-06:00Mercury Rising

I always knew I was a star. And now, the rest of the world seems to agree with me. -Freddy Mercury I remember selling our Beatles LPs in the late 70s at a garage sale we held to raise money for new missionaries to Kenya. Never really gave it a thought. We were part of a fundamentalist sect that were pretty anti-rock-music. I, more than most.In those early days my listening habits was gospel. I

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-51846200303987965922025-12-09T12:41:00.002-06:002025-12-09T12:41:43.799-06:00Does God have to be Perfect?

Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete. -Matthew 5:48 CEB I love how the Common English Bible (CEB) renders this verse. While other translations tell us to be perfect as God is perfect this rendering seems to make more sense. It does mess with us though. All of our lives we have been told that God is perfect in every way.To be

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-72443820231837557152025-11-27T12:40:00.002-06:002025-11-27T12:40:18.281-06:00Why did Jesus come?

Jesus said, “Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.” -Luke 19:10 MSG I like the way that Eugene Petersen renders this verse. I think that the salvation that Jesus speaks of is all about finding and restoring people who have lost hope. Folks that are sad, lonely, unhappy and unloved. To these he saves more

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-48811669053331297902025-11-22T10:49:00.000-06:002025-11-22T10:49:19.002-06:00prayers that cost us nothing

When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! -Jesus Christ, Matthew 6:5 I have prayed a few thousand people in my lifetime. Have shed many tears as I felt the pain of my brothers and sisters in the faith. I have spent years praying silently and in private for my wife as she struggled with disability and pain. I prayed constantly for my first wife before she died,So I am acquainted with the

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-5538619167015148902025-11-22T10:22:00.003-06:002025-11-22T10:22:50.265-06:00Does Jesus have to be divine?

According to Christian theology, Jesus had to be God for his sacrifice to be sufficient to atone for the sins of all humanity. As a human, his death would have been finite, but because he was God, his sacrifice was infinite and could pay the infinite penalty for sin against an infinitely holy God. Being both fully God and fully man, Jesus could act as a mediator and provide a way for people to be

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-67293025401044261832025-11-12T10:51:00.100-06:002025-11-22T10:35:16.082-06:00Developing My Inner Voice

Your mind knows only some things. Your inner voice, your instinct, knows everything. If you listen to what you know instinctively, it will always lead you down the right path. -Henry Winkler In my life it has been hard for me to discern and develop my inner voice. My brain always seemed to override the inner voice. A bad habit that I developed because of fear. Consequentially, I tended to rely on

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-1677671781370771962025-11-11T11:30:00.000-06:002025-11-11T11:30:46.663-06:00Does God Know the Future?

For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -Jeremiah 29:11 This verse is often used to substantiate the claim that God knows the future. I don't interpret the verse that way. In my view, it is simply saying that God wants us to prosper and be filled with hope. And that hope can stem from seeing God working in our lives when

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-32366294171672779632025-11-08T09:49:00.002-06:002025-11-08T09:49:51.222-06:00Integrated Theology

One man's theology is another man's belly laugh. -Robert A. Heinlein I think that a theology that happens in a vacuum is a primitive one. So often we begin our understandings of the scriptures in a narrow setting that teaches us one way to read and interpret the Bible. Even if the teacher says there are other ways to understand a passage they hone in on one.Consequently we grow up spiritually

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-54398983390356771292025-11-06T08:45:00.000-06:002025-11-06T08:45:36.294-06:00The Cross Theories

"The cross is the school of love." - St. Maximilian Kolbe There are seven theories, proffered by theologians, of what happened when Jesus was crucified. Unfortunately, most of those theories are based on the idea that atonement needs to be made for our sins. They mostly deal with some sort of substitution scenario where Jesus took our place and our judgement on the cross. Here is a synopsis that

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-72522758963749202282025-11-04T12:57:00.001-06:002025-11-04T12:59:24.830-06:00Grief and Deconstruction

All change is loss, and all loss requires mourning. -Harry Levinson A sad part of deconstruction is the loss. So much of my life and ministry revolved around the Bible. From the early days of my Christian life, I devoted myself to the teachings of the Bible. I felt comfortable in my understanding of it. I went to Bible college thinking that the things I learned would last forever.As I began to

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-21133354723795713942025-11-03T13:26:00.004-06:002025-11-03T13:34:15.592-06:00What's the Deal with Chosen People?

You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. -Deuteronomy 7:6But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. -1Peter 2:9 It seems to be

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-28584884789497525552025-11-01T12:47:00.000-05:002025-11-01T12:47:24.575-05:00Blood and Forgiveness

God's Law taught that blood was necessary to make almost everything clean. We see that God does not forgive people for their sins unless there is blood from a death. -Hebrews 9:22 EASY A major part of my deconstruction was embracing the God who does not need blood to forgive. This was a difficult idea for me. Years of indoctrination held me captive. The Bible seemed to agree with this idea that

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-64939721682934680702025-10-30T16:55:00.001-05:002025-11-01T12:09:50.227-05:00Reading the Bible as a Novel

Commentators and expositors are very useful, indeed, but the best expositor is always the author of a book, himself. If I had a book which I did not quite understand, it would be a very great convenience to me to live next door to the author, for then I could run in and ask him what he meant. - CS Lewis For a very large part of my 76 years I was obsessed with the Bible. I read it through every

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-85783420780519497782025-10-29T11:02:00.003-05:002025-11-01T12:11:03.636-05:00spiritual deconstruction

Spiritual deconstruction is the process of critically examining and potentially rejecting long-held religious beliefs, practices, and identities. It's a journey of re-evaluation, not necessarily a rejection of faith itself, but rather a questioning of what no longer aligns with one's personal values and sense of self. This can involve questioning doctrines, rituals, and even the way one

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-510778187164313882024-12-30T12:37:00.005-06:002025-11-01T12:12:33.037-05:00not so original sin

"Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous." [Romans 5:18-19 NKJV] I think that these verses crystallize Paul's thinking

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-37644930985658343772022-12-17T13:31:00.003-06:002025-11-01T12:12:51.792-05:00hyperbole and the moving of mountains

Jesus told his disciples, “Have faith in God! I tell all of you with certainty, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ if he doesn’t doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. That is why I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. [Mark 11:22-24 ISV] The

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-22870432710707719892022-12-01T11:29:00.019-06:002025-12-10T11:36:16.443-06:00My Deconstruction Diary

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-62973726880469821492022-05-31T11:24:00.000-05:002022-05-31T11:24:28.938-05:00the myth of religious karma

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ [Luke 18:9-14:] This religious dude seems to have embraced the idea of religious karma.By that, I mean the idea that our lives are rewarded because we do

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04757315688547991419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-31898965480590434072021-03-31T11:19:00.001-05:002021-03-31T11:19:28.090-05:00feeling alone and forsaken

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” [Matthew 27:45-47] Has there ever been a more surreal death in all of history?Lean into

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17440862813109808755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-46360323588999335392021-03-25T12:43:00.001-05:002021-03-25T12:43:40.162-05:00the human on the cross

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. [John 19:28-29 NIV] These words are the first that Jesus speaks to us that reminds us that he was fully human.  So far he

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17440862813109808755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-862334873526436412021-03-19T11:33:00.036-05:002021-03-19T11:51:14.839-05:00finding comfort in each other

Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home. [John 19:25-27 NLT] It is so easy to get wrapped up

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17440862813109808755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-86820803061053235512021-03-17T11:04:00.000-05:002021-03-17T11:04:15.631-05:00two men dying

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17440862813109808755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-52212754429249169102021-03-15T13:00:00.000-05:002021-03-15T13:00:02.140-05:00humanity on trial

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him,

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17440862813109808755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-64812494101148292412021-03-11T12:47:00.000-06:002021-03-11T13:56:47.669-06:00being open to hear

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. [John 5:25-27 ESV] I find it so interested how Jesus' words have a

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17440862813109808755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665353.post-84460371335259232732020-09-08T11:28:00.002-05:002020-09-08T11:28:29.625-05:00the only one qualified to judge

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. [John 5:22-24 ESV] Most of us really do

kc bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17440862813109808755noreply@blogger.com1