Always Striving, Never Arriving

To The Friend I've Never Met.

The good things of God are often twisted by either the great pervert and prevaricator or by broken human spirits.  The virtuous life, which results from relationship with God, is twisted to be a means to that relationship, resulting in painful, empty striving while never arriving.  God’s freely given grace, which enables us to live a holy life, is distorted into an excuse for lack of maturity or discipline.  A ‘culture of honor’, which is the result of a community living life together in The Presence, can tend to attract angry people who see it as a place where they can finally get the respect and affirmation they demand. 

Fun Fact:  A culture of honor is not about me being honored, but about me honoring others, irrespective of how they treat me.  It is about me partnering with God in calling out the treasures in those around me, not about posturing so they notice me and my value.  Jesus did not insist that others honor him.  Instead, he insisted on serving others.

In fact, much of what I strive to do, would likely happen as a net result of simply resting in The Presence.  The FRUIT of the spirit is the RESULT of life lived in The Presence, not a means to attaining The Presence.   In myself, I lack the means to be fully loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, faithful, gentle, meek, humble or self-controlled.  But…in The Presence…I will become all that and more, not from my efforts, but from His.

Jesus is here.  All is well. . .

I Am Daniel

New Wine, New Song

To The Friend I've Never Met,

Like new wine poured into an ancient wineskin that could not contain it, Jesus, God's New Song for lost humanity, was poured into hell and the grave...and they could not contain him. He ruptured the fabric of the grave and life burst forth, redeeming and restoring all that death has taken. 

On the cross, he said, "It is finished", not "I am finished,"...He was just getting started. 

Today, may life overwhelm death...may your soul be re - freshed, re - stored, re - set, and may dreams long dead be brought to life in His Presence.

Jesus is here. All is well.

I am Daniel

Giants of the Deep, or Minnows In A Pool?

The the Friend I've Never Met.

A Christian longing for a move of the Spirit is a bit like a fish longing for a move of the ocean.  

I saw my first tidal pool on the beach near La Push, Washington.  There had been a storm a few days earlier with a very high tide, creating dozens of amazing tidal pools.  One was as big as a backyard swimming pool and probably six or seven feet deep.  It was teeming with life…starfish, crabs, sea anemones, schools of fish, snails, mussels… and it was dying.  Not today, not tomorrow or even next week or month, but dying nonetheless. Without another move of the ocean, another wave, the water would become toxic and life would cease.

I think perhaps the church has existed like this for decades…centuries even.  Crafted by a great wave of the spirit, the early days are heady, exhilarating and brimming with wonder and amazement at the good things of God.  But over time, things settle down, the structure containing the life becomes a source of security and identity, and those living in the structure transition from longing for a wave to resisting anyone who makes waves.  And when the Next Wave comes, the beach-bound denounce it as heresy, hoping and praying it doesn’t reach their little tidal pool.

What if…when the next wave comes in, we go out into the deep with it?  What if...we experience life out there, in the deep, with room to grow enormous and fellowship with other giants of the deep?  Out there...what will 'church' look like?  

As a recovering politician, I have encountered in my campaigns, angry Christians.  Christians who are angry at the moral state of the culture, the lack of reverence for that which they consider sacred… Abortion!… Homosexuality!... Addiction! ... Divorce!... Promiscuity!  Naturally, some of them assume that God shares their anger and some were angry at me for not being angry like them.  It’s as if they are fighting to regain, by their own anger and efforts, the fruit of the last Wave of the Spirit…widespread virtue and morality…more than they are fighting to restore the RELATIONSHIP with The One who produces virtue and morality in people and culture.

What if...we lovingly fought as hard for relationship as we now angrily fight for the desired results of relationship?

Jesus is here.  All is well.

I am Daniel

Don't Wait

To The Friend I've Never Met,







Waiting for courage before facing my fears is like waiting to learn to swim before getting in the water.










Jesus is Here.  All is well.

I am Daniel