You Call Me Friend John 15:15-16 NIV15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father w...  Read More

A mid-summer moment …And so the story begins; It was mid-summer this year and I awoke peaceful, enjoying the early morning in the small garden at the back of the house. It’s a man’s garden full of pepper plants, tomatoes, blackberry bushes. Tart and spicy. Tending the garden that morning, there it was, a faint almost whispy, dreamlike memory that quietly floated through the thoughts of my mind. It...  Read More

It was early year 2025, the deer have shed their horns and spring has begun to gradually wrestle away the cold grip of winter. Life will soon spring forth from the ground, the does and their suckling fawns soon walk the prairie trails, the sound of the chicks of many different birds with their high-pitched calls for food in the woodlots will be heard. And little furry babies of many sorts will nes...  Read More

by Paul Cypert There are moments of courage from men and women that manifest in every day ways. Not talking about those who go to war, special forces, combat or the bravery of first responders. Although, these acts of men and women are very courageous. No, I’m talking about the courage that it takes to take on yourself. Your tendencies, your patterns, your willfulness, your sin.  I’m writing about...  Read More

For many of you, much of your Christian background was a thorough indoctrination in offense, for most of us are whether we know it or not, or want to admit it or not, we were steeped in evangelicalism (offense). If you were taught defense it was primarily how to defend your faith. Nothing wrong with that, but developing a personal defense to ward off what the world, the flesh and the devil (calami...  Read More

By Jon Nichols As a follower of Jesus, I am convinced that having a life of Prayer and a Life soaked in the Word are two of the most important things I can be about.  We live in a world that is inundated with, impressed with, and led by opinion.  And our particular culture may be one of the most culpable.  How easily we give our opinion on every topic under the Sun and how easily we are guided by ...  Read More

By Paul Cypert  It was my high school sophomore year and luckily we had a sophomore basketball team of which I was a member and starter. So, as needed by the coaches I bounced back and forth from the JV team to the Sophomore team as needed. I was skinny and undersized but I loved the game. And I had this big dream of starting on varsity for the Bulldogs! Busting through the paper entrance circle o...  Read More

by Paul Cypert For many of you, much of your Christian background was a thorough indoctrination in offense, for most of us are wither we know it or not, or want to admit it or not, we were steeped in evangelicalism (offense). If you were taught defense it was primarily how to defend your faith and there is nothing wrong with that, but developing a personal defense to ward off what the world, the f...  Read More

by Paul Cypert The Prairie scape that I am most familiar is located in the High Plains of Texas. I love the solitude. It stills my soul. And it is in these prairies I have spent much of my time. There is no scrutiny, constant observation, no critique, dissonance. Just the winds, the critters and His presence. It’s as if I belong there. The expanse of sage and grass, the creek bottoms, and wood lot...  Read More

Here’s my own personal observation of the life and times of contemporary theology.  Over the years there has always been, a steady stream of the latest and greatest new revelation about Jesus and what that means for the church. It always came with fresh hope and belief that now perhaps the people of God would flourish, rise up and establish the Kingdom on earth.What this appears to be looking bac...  Read More

The Human Being & Human Doing People who are wise in the art of spiritual formation often remind us that, in the end, we would benefit greatly from understanding that we are human beings and not merely humans doing.  By this, I understand them to mean that most people find their worth in what they do, as they imagine others will perceive it, whereas the biblical criteria for worth is found in who ...  Read More

“Hallowed,” like most of the verbs in this prayer, is in the imperative mood, the mood most often associated with commands.The standard translation of an imperative would make this verse sound as if the speaker is telling God to be holy, which does not make much sense.In the Greek, however, the imperative can carry the sense of an entreaty; an expression of request.  In English, to convey this sen...  Read More

by Paul CypertThis is David son of Jessie who tends the flocks of his father, he lives in a place of solitude. David spends his day in prayer, worship, and as his spirit is filled with prophetic psalms, he journals, yet keeps a watchful eye for he is the shepherd and protector of his father’s flocks. He’s just a boy but hardened, having killed the lion and the bear that attempt to steal away what ...  Read More

by Paul CypertIN THE WIND…It was early January,Last day of whitetail deer season on the High Plains of Texas,With a good friend, guiding his 16-year-old daughter on her first deer hunt.The three of us crammed into a two person deer blind, which wasn’t a negative, glad for the warmth of a couple of extra bodies. It was about 18 degrees that early morning. I was in a familiar place, a prairie runway...  Read More

by Paul CypertMay 9, 2021Hey, it’s a Sunday morning, and I like it. Can’t wait to see folks.Paul in the book of Ephesians employs a slogan, ‘Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.’ (Ephesians 4:26 KNT ‘Be angry, but don’t sin’; don’t let the sun go down on you while you’re angry,) and the people of Ephesus would have immediately understood, because it was a well-used saying in their culture.The ...  Read More

By Dustin MesserDustin Messer is a Priest at All Saints Dallas and a Constitutional Fellow at the Center for the Study of Statesmanship at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.“I feel lost.”Those are the words that greeted me when I picked up the phone. Since separating from his wife a month into the lockdowns, my friend’s days were becoming more and more listless, even as he was becom...  Read More

by Paul CypertAlthough it was November in the Central Plains of Texas, the sun was warm on my face. And as I walked slowly and quietly to the deer blind, I arrived, gear laden, weapon in hand with the rest of me warmed up.Opening the small ports of the blind, the wind, prevalent to this area, wafted through this small chamber bringing with it the sounds and fragrance of the woods below. I settled ...  Read More

by Paul CypertLuke, a follower of Jesus and later one who becomes an Apostle and author, records, in his Gospel account of the days in which Jesus was on this Earth as a man, the stories of a prostitute who crashes a dinner party, a prodigal son and the story of a Publican (tax collector).Luke’s stories unravel for us a perspective of how these three separate individuals somehow understood their c...  Read More