The Web Site and Blog of Pastor Chris Brauns
Cornelius Plantinga in his highly recommended, Engaging God’s World (page 7):
Our “inconsolable secret,” says C.S. Lewis, is that we are full of yearnings, sometimes shy and sometimes passionate, that point us beyond the things of earth to the ultimate reality of God. And summer mornings on which we awaken to “stabs of joy” are clues that this is so.
See also, “Feeling Down at the end of Christmas Season” and
Thom Rainer (President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources) reflects on the race of life:
When my son, Art Rainer, began work on the book we co-authored, Simple Life, he spent a good bit of time in a cemetery.
That’s right. A cemetery.
He found a cemetery near his home in Boca Raton, Florida, and simply walked from grave marker to grave marker. Listen to his simple explanation for this strange type of research.
“I came to this cemetery to gain perspective. I could not think of a more inspirational location than to be surrounded by those whose earthly story had come to an end. If they could, what would they tell us? Now that their lives are over, what wisdom would they want to pass on? What were their regrets? Where did they get it right? Though the sands of time in my life’s hourglass are still running for me, with every breath I breathe, I am moving toward my physical closure.
“My body will become like theirs.
“On each grave marker is a dash between two years. The dash is time, and that is where we are, in our dash. And before there is some year placed on the other end, we need to figure this thing out.”
The Dash Hits Home
This past week was tough. My older brother, Sam Rainer, had open heart surgery. The surgery went well. The road to recovery looked great. But two days later he had a stroke.
As I sat next to him in the intensive care unit, I reflected about our family. Our parents died years ago. Our sister died as an infant. In our original family, it’s just the two of us. And there he was with a newly repaired heart dealing with the aftermath of a stroke in the intensive care unit.
The dash got really rough for him this week. . .
Read the rest here.
If you find yourself longing for a better church, or marriage, or somehow feel that your career is not what it should be, then read this post from Daryl Dash (click here).
Be careful that you don’t dismiss the post because you see that it focuses on pastoral ministry. Daryl’s central thought is profound. And, it’s well illustrated via a story about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
The more I read Dashouse.com , the better I like it.
I know it’s not Christmas – - but, this all has to do with what the German’s call “sensucht.” You might also take a look at this post.
One of my favorites, Rudyard Kipling reminds us that our time on the New Earth won’t be spent sitting around doing nothing. . . On the contrary, it will only be than that we can Continue reading ‘The New Earth Won’t Be Boring’
I think the reason many are depressed over the holidays is because they do not know how to interpret the yearnings of their soul.
I don’t suppose that there is anyone who has not experienced yearnings or longings of the soul – Augustine said that he experienced them when he read Plato – - he felt as though he was looking at a peaceful valley from a wooded ridge - - a nostalgic feeling — that there was a beautiful place that he couldn’t quite access.
Read endorsements for Unpacking Forgiveness here.
Click here to order Unpacking Forgiveness.
“. . . Chris Brauns has done a magnificent job in helping us understand the true nature of biblical forgiveness. Every Christian will profit from reading and applying this book.” Jerry Bridges.
“ . . . Unpacking Forgiveness is an engaging, convicting but emphatically encouraging treatment of this hugely important (and sometimes mindbogglingly challenging) part of life. Dr. Brauns writes from the standpoint of a faithful, wise, experienced and caring pastor . . .” Ligon Duncan, First Pres, Jackson, MS
A Brick in the Valley
