Life Cartography is written by Charles Porter.

Category: Character of God

  • The truth about Christians and Infertility

    “Just take another wife. You can love this one, but that one can give you kids.” Sounds like something right out of the Old Testament doesn’t it? But this conversation happened just a few short years ago. My wife and I were serving as missionaries and this muslim friend was trying to tell me how […]

  • Joseph was not a total idiot, and other Christmas myths debunked

    There is something wrong with the traditional Christmas narrative. Joseph is too much of an idiot. But Joseph was not an idiot, and why we have the Christmas story totally wrong. Joseph was a total idiot. That is, if the traditional reading of the Christmas story is right. Think about it. The way we make […]

  • Jesus and the Naughty List

    My 4 year old was worried about the naughty list. Her, shall we say, “impulse control” is sometimes missing. After one little altercation in the car on the way to church, her little voice piped from the back row of the minivan. “Will I not get any presents for Christmas?” The frustrated father in me […]

  • 5 gifts every father can afford and can’t afford to not give his children

    5 gifts every father can afford and can’t afford to not give his children

    note: First delivered as part 5 in a Series of lectures at the Ocean International Community Church in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. #Blackfriday came and went and I purchased nothing. Ziltch. Nada. I had the commercial pressure to define us by our stuff. Having been broke many times, what are gifts that I could give […]

  • Leaders Fail before they fall

    Leaders Fail before they fall

    Three scriptures where Christian leaders fail to follow before they fall. 1. Let your gentleness be evident to all. 2. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life 3. He called “some” I’ve never met someone who wakes up one morning and says “Today, I want to ruin my life, my reputation, my family, […]

  • God has Chronic Pain

    God has Chronic Pain

    We have a world that is broken. And we have a Savior who heals. I firmly believe it. But in the days of Elisha, there were many lepers in Israel, but only one that we know was healed. Our culture has an aversion to pain. From Ibuprofen to Oxycodone to morphine, our language has been […]

  • Why there are no biblical Super Heroes.

    I love super heroes. I start reading comics books in 1985 in 6th grade. My favorites were the PowerPack, kids who got their powers from a mysterious horse dude. The series didn’t last long, but it was all the introduction to the world of Marvel that I needed. I love super heroes. I’ve preached numerous […]

  • Hello my name is God

    Imagine if God walked up and introduced himself. You know, kind of like one of those networking parties. Here’s part one of a 7 part series called Hello MyName is God. hello my name is God part 1

  • A true life story to illustrate the point

    During our 40 life lessons video series, I wrote this post on character. The question is always: Is it possible. Here’s the answer. Character   Share with us a story of character on our FB page.

  • Don Miller is right but I still disagree about church.

    In 2003, I read “Blue Like Jazz,” the book that has become somewhat of a classic among disenfranchised evangelicals. It was my first encounter with Don Miller. Since then, Miller has written extensively and gone from fringe to popular culture, from Portland Pubs to Catalyst stage. I’ve always admired his candor. I’ve given away many […]