• fish
    Fishers of Men,  Self-awareness,  strongholds

    The Fish in Your Dark Subconscious Sea

    Large bodies of water are heavy with mystery. Under the surface live strange creatures, both comic and terrifying.  Movies show monsters, though more common are the schools of shimmering fish that fill dinner plates.  But the sea is often a metaphor for our own minds, our will, and emotions battling under the surface of our societal mask. So when Jesus tells His disciples to cast their nets on the right side of their boat, He is speaking a metaphor into their lives. Often we default to the line about Jesus making his disciples fishers of men, but this is not the only context in which Jesus speaks of fishing.  In…

  • Anxiety,  Bathsheba,  confession,  David,  freedom,  hope,  Nathan,  regret,  relationship,  Shame & Guilt

    Release from Regret: Recapture your Hope

    There is no regret in the kingdom of God, but that doesn’t mean we don’t struggle mightily with it.  I imagine David after the prophet, Nathan, informs him that his son from Bathsheba will die because of his sins of murder and adultery.  His chief regret, I assume, is that the consequences of his actions have affected more than just himself.  I cannot imagine David’s horror as he watches his son die, knowing that his sin caused it.  But after the child passes, David leaves his grief and goes to resume his duties on behalf of Israel.  To the heart of some, this may seem callous, but David’s own words…

  • confession,  Forgiveness,  freedom,  Heart,  Self Awareness,  Self-forgiveness,  Shame & Guilt

    Three Questions That Lead to Self Forgiveness

    After a decade of no contact, my sixteen year old daughter lived with her father for about six months.  While I didn’t sleep a full night during that time, she seemed happy for the first three.  After that, things began to go south rather quickly, and soon, she came home, to both of our relief.  One day soon after, while we were at the grocery store, she mentioned that her whole life she had assumed that our divorce was her fault.  She had never mentioned this to me, the idea that somehow my divorce from an abuser could be laid at her feet.  But before I could begin my strenuous objections…