Tom's Northwest Passages

May God bless you with discomfort At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, So that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless you with tears To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war, So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and To turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness To believe that you can make a difference in the world, So that you can do what others claim cannot be done To bring justice and kindness to all our children and to the poor. Amen. - from Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make a Difference? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 105.

Lord Jesus , Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, "Come Lord Jesus !" Amen.

My Intentions 1. I intend to live in conscious awareness of God's loving presence. 2. I intend to live so as to make plausible and tangible the love of God. 3. I intend to trust God's sovereign love, to abandon myself to God’s providence, 4. I intend to be aware of and to follow the Spirit's leading. 5. I intend to be a good steward of my body, to eat right and less (fewer carbs, less fat, less salt), and to bike or walk at least five days a week. 6. I intend to read and watch what is beneficial and enjoyable, to watch less TV, and to spend less time on the computer. 7. I intend to read two books a month. 8. I intend to write more and make available to others what will be helpful, to write what is positive, beneficial, to be a bearer of light. 9. I intend to simplify my life, to get rid of stuff: possessions, clothes, metings, beliefs that don't work, all "baggage," etc. 10. I intend to teach well but not to obsess about it to listen more and m...

I am slowly writing a theo-centric commentary on the Psalms. Here is an example. Psalm 6 – Afraid that God is angry, David turns to God anyway 1. David believes that God may be angry with him, but he comes to God anyway. He is afraid of God’s discipline. 2. He also knows that God is merciful, especially toward the weak and those who need healing. 3. He urgently asks God how long his situation of suffering will last. 4. God is able to save and deliver him because of God’s unfailing love. 5. He sees God as open to reason, arguing that if God lets him die, God will be less praised, for who praises God in the world of the dead? 6. He tells God exactly how he feels. 7. He reminds God of his sorrow and of his enemies. 8. He is confident that God has heard his cry for help. 9. The Lord has heard his plea for mercy and welcomes his prayer. 10. David has faith that his “enemies” (internal ones such as fear, guilt, and pain and external ones, such as attacks and criticism from outsiders) will be...

Most of my problems in life have come from poor self-management, from a lack of balance, and from desires out of control. Over the years, I have become somewhat healthier, mentally, physically, and spiritually, by keeping, as best I can, the following counsel: *Detach from all outcomes, from having to have it a certain way. Relax and let God's will be done. completely surrender to God. Let go of any fear or worry. All will be well. *Give up the demand for clarity, for everything to make sense, to meet your own criteria of what is acceptable or right. Be faithful to what you know and do good work anyway, even if you can't see the larger picture. *Detach from judgment, evaluation, and criticism of others or yourself. If there is a problem, God will take care of it. Stop trying to manage the universe. *Don't complain and don't explain. Trust God to work things out if they need to change. Self-defense is unnecessary and counter-productive. *Let it be. Accept what is, withou...

The Presentation of God in the Book of Revelation Prof. Thomas F. Johnson George Fox University [This "paper" is part of a larger project I am working on - the presentation of the character of God in the Bible. There is a lot of diversity in the Bible's presentation of who God is and what God does. It cannot all be easily reconciled. We should expect this, given the long time frame over which the biblical documents were written and the various viewpoints represented by their writers. Revelation was written by and for a Christian community undergoing intense suffering in the Roman province of Asia, probably at the end of the first century A.D. They, through their author, the prophet John (probably not an apostle), represent God in a way that supports their need for a divine deliverer who will vindicate them and judge their enemies, if not in this life, then in the life to come. Revelation is nothing like the book portrayed in recent best-selling popular fiction. For an ana...

United Airlines Flight 232 – 7/19/89 Apricot chicken or seafood newburg, the flight attendant asks. I choose the chicken, Iowa boy no shoreline to the farm. But this bird can't fly either and I come home to rest among the corn.