A.C. Schafer's Blog

Hold the Line

Ephesians 6:10-18

Not much discussion is given to the war that we are currently in. The enemy has done a fantastic job of distraction, smoke and mirrors redirecting our gaze and our aim to whatever inflammatory topic is currently at the top of the news.

This is why we need to see this world for what it is…a battlefied. So when the battles come, as they will, we are able to recognize them for what they are, and for what they are NOT. They are NOT simply choices to do what is right or what is wr...

Prayer for Focus in Spiritual Battles

Prayer for Focus in Spiritual Battles

Psalm 36:5-12; Psalm 38:1-6; Ephesians 6; Hebrews 12:28-29

Father God,

   I come before you in prayer with a grateful

and humbled heart for your marvelous and

unfailing love. Your precious love is far more

vast than my understanding, broader than the

sky above and higher than the mountains; all

encompassing.

You, O God, are righteous and just.

You are good.

You are my shelter and my provider.

You are the light by which I see.

   By your light, you make me able to dis...

Wandering

 I’m not lost. I’m just wandering.

There is something to be said for living life without an anchor. By which I mean, living without anything to hold you down to one place, one job, one style of life, one set of friends.

It’s sometimes frightening to be so unleashed, of course. To find yourself flung into the GREAT UNKNOWN without any idea of where you are going to land. But the hard facts of life mean that no one, not even the most rooted and grounded and anchored person with a pension and a 401K ...

Because

2020 became the year where the words ‘because Covid’ explained everything from chaos and fear to widespread shutdowns, illness, overtime or lack of employment, distance learning and the inability to get a decent haircut. In the course of a few weeks, the entire world changed. The structure and fabric of society warped in new ways, and humans did not approve. Because…Covid.
It’s a phrase that explains the change, separating the normal and expected from everything that followed over the course of t...

Kings, Countries, and Christmas

Kings, Countries, and Christmas
It’s coming around to that time of year where everyone turns to thoughts of gift giving and generosity. This isn’t simple coincidence. It is a direct link to the holiday that gives the season its name; a holiday that has in many ways been twisted and perverted by commercialism to gain as much revenue as possible. And yet beneath all the trappings, commercials, decorations, and treats there remains the idea of something strange and amazing happening. There clings...

Worth Dying For?

I was listening to a podcast the other day (It’s called Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, and if you have any interest at all in human nature or war history, I would highly recommend it). At the beginning of the very first episode I listened to, he asked the question “What would you die for?” 
As this is a fairly typical question, echoed in other forms as ‘until you know what you would die for, you’re not really living’ and so on, it is something that I’ve thought about in since I was a teen...

The Instagram Perspective

A snippet from the Instagram Welcome email reads like this:

“Share your perspective by capturing and sharing photos and videos from your day, whether it’s your morning routine or the trip of a lifetime"

On the face of it, the words are accurate. You are in fact literally sharing your perspective by showing whoever happens to be following you what you are seeing… or what you want them to see. But the previous statement also has the implied promise that if people see what you see they w...

On America

It’s Independence Day in small town USA. The country pride is high.

Outside my window, fireworks crack the sky open. I think of mortars falling, of distant and not-so-distant gunfire. Of countries where there is no such thing as independence. And I think that America is great. I also think that it has grown so great that it no longer remembers why this holiday is so important.

Americans like tout the word freedom as if it is the secret pass-phrase into a superhero hideout. We celebrate our...

Reflections

The year is nearly over.

I sit beside my fireplace with a pot of coffee brewing. The snow gleams outside in the sharp winter air.

This is not Arizona.

The whole landscape of my life has changed, and not just externally.

Last January, about this time, started thinking about going to work in a field hospital in a war zone. That decision led to so many other new and unexpected things that it’s hard to look back and understand exactly what has happened in these twelve months.

More than anything, I thi...

Facets of Perfection

There is a gap between our idea of perfection, and what we call perfection in other people, or even in ourselves. Consider, for instance, whether or not you would like to work for a person who as perfect. I don’t mean that he or she would be the perfect boss, because that is not quite the same thing as being a perfect person. If you are in any way like me, you might find yourself vaguely uncomfortable with the idea.

At first, I couldn’t understand why this might be. It is a high Christian idea...