Thursday, November 9th, 2017
In 1505, a 21 year old law student at the University of Erfurt Germany, oppressed and afflicted with guilt over his sin, dropped out of school and joined the local Augustinian Monastery known as “The Black Cloister” for the color of the monks’ habits. His father was furious over what he considered a waste of his son’s education. Desperate to find relief from the weight of his guilt, the young man once spent six hours in the confessional with the vicar of the monastery Johann Von Staupitz. Rumor had it that the comprehensive breadth of his confessions rivaled that of Saint Augustine himself after whom the monastery was named. Staupitz would later say of this young man, Martin Luther, that he would confess for hours on end without confessing “anything interesting.”
Posted in Theology & Religion | No Comments »
Sunday, November 5th, 2017
Despite their best effort and a few great plays against Northwestern Saturday, the Huskers racked up another loss. I’m no sports analyst, but the Huskers’ outlook seems bleak this year, struggling on both sides of the ball with a quarterback prone to throwing interceptions. I remember the days when our defense was a force to be reckoned with, intimidating every team in the nation. Now our defense intimidates no one. Like a championship football team, the Gospel’s place in our hearts requires a strong defense.
Posted in Theology & Religion | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 31st, 2017
October 31st marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and the birth of the Reformation. Luther’s insistence that being made right with God was accomplished solely by faith in Christ and not the performance of righteous deeds faced opposition on two fronts. The religious leaders of his day scoffed at the idea that scoundrels and miscreants could attain a righteousness equal to, and in fact superior to, those who dedicated years of their lives in service and ministry to the church. Others argued that if all our righteous acts of service count for nothing, we may as well do as we please, living lives of selfish indulgence.
Posted in Theology & Religion | No Comments »
Saturday, February 12th, 2011
You wouldn’t have to know me long to figure out I’m a broken person and I don’t mean broken in some spiritual sense that implies a humble and submissive spirit. I mean broken like my Dyson DC16 handvac – it plain don’t work. Sure, all the pieces are still there and yes it has the potential to be the most powerful dirt-lifting device ever imagined by man, but all it is now is an oddly shaped lump of plastic taking up space on my counter top. It would be nice to just walk over there, grab him and give him a firm and rigorous shaking and shout “Damn you Dyson! Look at what you’ve become! Pull yourself together man! Reach down deep inside and find the strength to get yourself back in working order! Make yourself great again!” However, I have little hope this strategy will have any effect. No. As humiliating as it may be for him, he is going to have to be disassembled, placed back in his styrofoam molds, and shipped back to the factory where the good folks who know him inside and out can diagnose his malfunction, clean or replace any faulty parts, and set him back on the path of dirt-lifting greatness. The good news for me is there happens to be a factory for broken people too. His name is Jesus. I really enjoyed this short video by Dan Stevers highlighting a few examples of the broken people whose lives crossed paths with their creator.
Posted in Theology & Religion | No Comments »
