Category Archives: Trogo: Something To Chew On

Divine Stabs of Joy

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C. S. Lewis called them “stabs of joy.” They were those moments of ecstasy that come at the most unforeseen times and often from the smallest incidents. As a child Lewis felt these piercings of his heart when seeing a picture of the Norse gods… and he was enraptured by the power of the scene, and its otherworldly “Northerness.” Music also could evoke these flashes of bliss for him. The search for joy became a focused desire of his life. Indeed, his autobiography is entitled Surprised By Joy and it is there he describes how he found the deepest desires of his heart fulfilled only when he discovered true joy in Christ.

I had one of these stabs of joy on the way to work this morning. Continue reading →

By the Pricking of My Thumbs

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I remember counseling a woman who was suffering from a great deal of fear in her life. Over the course of several weeks, I discovered that this woman had had several experiences with occult undertones. I felt that an intensive exploration of occult influences in her life was necessary. We sat down one evening and spent about two hours diagnosing her exposure to the occult. Although she was raised in church, and had a rather ordinary life, we found that she had experienced about 25 different instances of involvement in things of a demonic nature. This included everything from yoga and seeing ghosts to ouija boards and seances. No wonder there was a spirit of fear in her life! Continue reading →

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

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Today is the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist. John is often an overlooked and forgotten hero of the faith. We forget that Jesus declared that “among those born of women none is greater than John” (Luke 7:28). We forget that John was the forerunner of Christ, who prepared the way for His ministry. We forget that John was a great preacher of righteousness who would not compromise the truth. We forget that John was a martyr for the Lord. Continue reading →

The Scarlet L

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I must confess that often the reason I write one of these small essays is when something ticks me off. And, you guessed it, again something has rubbed me the wrong way. Actually, it has been something percolating for a time in that part of my brain that registers frustration and irritation. A few things I have heard recently have now caused the percolation to increase to a boil. Here is what I am upset over…

I am pretty tired of any time a Christian makes a statement that a certain behavior is sinful, as defined by the Bible itself, then that person is branded as intolerant and mean-spirited. I am tired of preachers and teachers being labeled as judgmental any time they address the issue of sin, especially specific ungodly actions. I am tired of parents, teachers, and church workers being castigated as being legalistic whenever they expect Christians of any age, but especially children, to behave in ways that the Scriptures deem as righteous and godly. Bottom line: I am tired of being judged as unfair, unforgiving, and ungracious when I simply agree with what the Bible says about sin, wickedness and evil. Continue reading →

Just the Facts, Ma’am

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I have a confession to make. I am an information junkie. I am addicted to facts and data. I guess this is why I love trivia so much.

Love it? Indeed, I do. Trivia intrigues and captivates me. All kinds. Except about sports. Sports holds almost no interest for me. (Unless it the physics of why a curve ball curves. Now that is interesting!) Everything else is fair game. Like… Continue reading →