Why Worship?

Tim Riter November 10, 2014

I made a new friend last Saturday. Albert. Yeah, that’s his pic above. A squirrel. During a friend’s retirement party, standing under a tree, talking to another old friend, he gently mouthed, “Squirrel.” I slowly turned, about one foot from my face was who I later learned was Albert. Apparently he wanted some of the food so freely available, and I held a finger up for him to sniff. He promptly yet gently bit it, almost as if to say, “No, squirrel food. Please.” Quite used to humans, he never flinched when I reached down for my phone to snap some pics of him. He seemed to pose.

But another brief conversation with the wife of another old friend (get over all the “olds,” this WAS a retirement celebration) sparked this post. She mused, “Why does God need worship? Is his ego so fragile it needs stroking?”

Jesus Freaks for Today?

Tim Riter November 3, 2014

Surveys repeat the findings: people are intrigued with Jesus, but not so much with either his followers or his church. They view us as judgmental, legalistic, reactionary: that we want to impose our morality on them.

That’s not unlike the 60s, an often inflexible church unwilling to adapt to a changing world. I understand that—the era experienced an explosion of sexual immorality and drug use and overall moral relativism. The church continued medieval hymns as rock and roll took over the culture.

Yet in that milieu, the Jesus Movement erupted...

Flashes of Glory

Tim Riter October 27, 2014

In a lifetime of following Jesus, with a plethora of peaks and valleys, of feasts and feathers, I’ve learned that managing expectations determines the level of faith frustration or satisfaction. Unrealistic hopes, when birthed, tend to result in disappointment with God—a jaded been there, done that experience.

Here’s that lesson learned.

Only when riding east to work

God Flashes

Tim Riter October 20, 2014

God shows up in unexpected times and places, if we look for the signs. Here’s one.

Each fall I journey to the Sierras. The trout are hungry, getting ready for winter, and bite gladly, unaware of the hidden hook. The cottonwood and aspen trees are changing colors, which is rare in most parts of CA. The people are scarce, even more rare in CA!

Last week’s trip featured

Worshipping Worship: the Ultimate Adultery

Tim Riter October 13, 2014

Thoughts take intriguing turns. A Facebook friend and fellow writer, Steve Hutson, posted an article that critiqued much of modern worship. The resulting discussion motivated me to further explore worship, which takes last week’s Unconventional post in a related direction. If we are to follow Jesus, that we worship and how we worship will drive the depth of our faith.

At its core, worship celebrates the reality that God has more innate worth than anything we can find in heaven or earth. Our English word comes from “worthyship,” so in worship by definition we focus on him. Get that well, it forms the foundation of all that will follow.

But God...

Tim Riter October 6, 2014

Preferring to understand the big picture, I embarked on a mission to comprehend God, vainly hoping the more I understood him and his nature and his essence, the better I could follow. Easier for an ant to assess Einstein. Unable to grasp the core of God in the vast distance between our natures, I drifted—until I yielded on the attempt.

But one truth came clear—the alienness of God.

In His Image?

Tim Riter September 29, 2014

One lady from our high school graduating class developed a Facebook page for us, which introduced me to Roland Peachie. This previously unknown classmate from decades back creates marvelous images with photographs. He posted the above pic (dare I call it just a pic?) with these words, “…the new adapter came in today, not only infinity has been fixed (I’d never realized someone broke it) but my Macro is now about 6 feet closer, which I really like.. test shots show even a different background blur with the new adapter.”

Must have been Latin he was speaking, I understood very little of it. But I did get the passion to create and replied...

A Tale of Two Cats

Tim Riter September 22, 2014

After providing a home and family to too many felines during our marriage, I can’t say we were happy when our last cat passed, but we did decide to enjoy being full empty nesters.

Six months later, our visiting grandchildren brought in a visiting, just weaned kitten. Adamantly, Sheila agreed to keep it just overnight to find the owners, and she would put up “Lost Cat” signs the next day while I worked. Heading home with no signs in sight, I found him curled up on her lap, purring. “If they want him, they can put up the signs” was her response to my raised eyebrows.

We called him Sandy for the color of his coat, but Lover Boy fit him more.

Unconventional

Old Faith, New Following