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There is a saying that a mystic is someone who prays to God and then waits for an answer. That’s a pretty good definition. I had learned to hear from God when I prayed, but I did not hear words. I would know things or sense things. Some people say that they get a peace; it was that, but much more ...

I too have had some encounters with suffering. There was a a time not long ago when my inner spiritual life was vibrant, but my outer life had rapidly getting worse. The ex-wife won a second big judgment against me. I got demoted about three times at work. My relationship with my children had fallen...

I know this is a strange concept, or at least it was strange to me. It began simply enough. God would give me little things that I wanted, provision. I would just think about something I wanted and God would give it to me. Most of these were small tokens, like getting a Great Courses CD series from ...

I do not know much about Mother Teresa. I read one little book about her life. From what I read she seemed to have a good balance of the mystical and the practical. She got a hold on a few verses of Scripture and went with them. She understood what Jesus meant when He said, “For I was hungry, and ...

A year or two ago I read something Augustine said that reminded me of Watchman Nee's book Christ the Sum of All Spiritual Things. Augustine was very smart so this is a very simplified version of what I think he was saying. Augustine said that God is ultimate Happiness. The best that things can do is...

Great Chapter! I always wondered how the sheep and goat were used practically. The Bible talks about Abraham being wealthy because of all his herds. I do not think of wealth in terms of herds. I think more in terms of investments, savings, home equity, and job benefits. This helps to put it all in p...

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. Hebrews". 11:13 This was one of my favorite chapters. High adventure ...

This chapter is challenging and frightening at the same time. As a leader it is challenging to be asked to care for sheep with this level of attention. I think it may be too much to ask. As a sheep it is also frightening. I have found healing and deliverance in the church but it has been at the marg...

I like the quote “He wants love expressed in action" when describing Jesus' re-commissioning of Peter. This line reminded me of the active love quote from Dostoevsky in The Brothers Karamazov. The quote is placed on the lips of Father Zosima. Father Zosima lives in the monastery but reaches o...

I walked the Camino de Santiago in 2010. I prepared some for the pilgrimage but not enough. I wanted the trip to be an adventure and not a well scripted trip. I knew I needed water. I brought two 500ml water bottles with me. Water is heavy, so you only want to bring what you need. I started out on d...