Posts by Ralph Patrick

“Though He was in the very nature of God, He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but rather divested Himself of all privilege . . . and humbled Himself and became obedient even unto the point of death.”  (Philippians 2) “When you have descended into the valley with Him, and with…

“Clothe yourselves with humility . . .  God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5 What does it mean to be broken?  When have you been broken?  What is it that broke you?  Was it some unexpected tragedy in life?  Was it the overwhelming sense of grief at the death…

David loved Jonathon as a brother In about four hours I’m going to pick Ernie up from the airport.  He’s flying in from Chicago to spend a few days with me, and then we’ll head to the Wind River Range in Wyoming for a week of back country hiking and camping.  Ernie is 81 years…

“For Freedom Christ has set us free.”  St. Paul “Martha, Martha, you are distracted by many things.  One thing is needed.”  Jesus Slavery vs. Freedom.  Sin vs. Salvation.  Bondage vs. Blessing.  All pertinent and relevant topics not only on this Fourth of July weekend, but throughout the history of humanity.  When considering these topics in…

“We need to learn . . . that we can assist the least desirable people with tenderness, using the deepest Treasures of our being. In this way we can touch eternity.” Taken from “The Tao Te Ching and the Christian Way” by Joseph Petulla The question posed above of Jesus by the expert in the…

Jesus asked them, “Who do people say that I am?” . . .  And then He asked them, “Who do YOU say that I Am?”  And Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Who Are you?  How would you answer that question?  Perhaps you would give a description based…

John 5 “Before God, with the people of God, we confess to our brokenness: To the ways we wound our lives, the lives of others, and the life of the world.”  (Taken from the Morning Service in the Iona Abbey worship book) “For a good person to recognize that it is more important to be…

“It is clear to me that God shows no partiality” Acts 10:34 There is no little irony in the fact that recent social unrest coincides with the Feast of Pentecost.  Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks as it is called in the Old Testament, fell fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus; the day upon…

“Woman, where are your accusers”?  She answered him, “No one is accusing me.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you.”  John 8 “If we treated our friends the same way we see ourselves we’d all be in jail.”  Unknown  Self-Awareness is priceless.  Self-Condemnation on the other hand comes at a very great…

“I have come that they might have life . . .”  Jesus “The Life I now live is hidden with Christ . . .” St. Paul My daughter put me onto the Netflix show “After Life” starring Ricky Gervais (If you’re offended by him, his language or his coarse sense of humor, don’t watch).  Spoiler…