James Rush Manley – Writer

One day, religious leaders challenged Jesus when the people worshiped him. He didn’t lower his gaze, furrow his brow with a half-smile, or give a bemused headshake saying, “No, no, no, their enthusiasm carries them to excess.” Instead he looked the question in the eye and said the rocks would praise him if men did not. He agreed that he was Lord and master. He proclaimed himself the Father’s Son and source of true food and drink. He claimed to be God, the Creator of the universe. Yet, the same Spirit also says he wouldn’t break a reed and names him the humble standard to follow. read more ...

Jerusalem’s ashes cooled. Lizards crawled among the stones. But the dreams returned every night—Babylonian spears, Babylonian swords, first red then dried to crusty brown, yet still hungry. Now daylight brought more. King Nebuchadnezzar left Gedaliah in charge of the remnant. Then Ishmael killed him, captured all the Jews, and forced them across the desert. But Johanan rescued everyone. Wide, bulging eyes darted back and forth. “We can’t stay here. The king of Babylon will kill the rest of us when he finds out what happened. Run! Hide! Hide in Egypt!” read more ...

Contradictions obscure what ought to be clear. God promises to open closed doors—just ask, seek, and knock. He commands, “Be strong and courageous.” He says the devil will flee if we resist. And if we like, go ahead and move that offending mountain. Clear directions speak to the point and fit goal-oriented theology.

But He confuses everything. He told the folks on a hillside to turn the other cheek and give to him who asks. And He says we’re supposed to wait. Wait for what? How do meek saints inherit the Earth while taking the Kingdom by force? How can we do what He wants when knowing what He wants eludes us? Yes, we believe Him. But sometimes it seems we need a Captain Midnight Secret Decoder Ring to crack the cipher. Turn the dial, match the letters and voilá! The hidden message appears. read more ...

A picture [unavailable for this post] shows a MAF plane and pilot on a jungle airstrip. He stands in a large circle of praying adults. Older kids look about; younger ones sit naked in the grass, clustered near the middle. Differences reveal location. The black people stand straighter than the brown of South America where I served. A generic Cessna 206 sits in the grass. But the propeller blades taper to the thin point of a normally aspirated engine rather than the wide, squared-off tips of the turbocharged model we used in the Andes Mountains. So, this guy flies mostly into lower elevation airstrips. Ah yes, the pilot. I recognize him. That confirms my guess. The differences say these folks live in eastern Africa. read more ...

A maximum-weight takeoff from a 300-meter (984-foot), muddy airstrip can reveal that the shiny airplane hides poor rigging and a weak cylinder. But professional aviators know that a successful flight operation depends upon good maintenance, so we inspect our machines thoroughly. The veracity of our internal procedures determines if we accomplish our mission or not. Order parts on time, or the airplanes don’t fly. Balance the checking account, or run out of money. So, we reconcile carefully. read more ...