Learning to love others the way Jesus loves us
Affection Read Romans 12:3-18 Pray that the Lord will open your mind and heart to hear His voice. How can we show affection to one another in a culture that thrives on division? No one will argue that the last three years have made people unified, bonded, and more committed to loving when the contrary… Continue reading Beloved: Reflection 2
Now what? My goodness. Just when I begin to think the divisive politicking of the American public has reached the bottom, something happens on one extreme side or the other to show me more depths of depravity. Morally vacant candidates fight to see which commits the most egregious sins. Old men stuck in decades past… Continue reading Grace, politics, and Gen Z
Where grace endures. I am currently working through Jennifer Rothschild’s excellent study on the minor prophet, Amos with my ladies Bible study. When the women’s ministry settled on Amos for fall I was both intrigued and excited. Intrigued because the minor prophets don’t have the touchy-feely vibe most weekday women’s Bible studies want (I long… Continue reading Undivided loyalty
Sometimes the most direct path is not a straight line #inspiredbyasermon Mark 7:31-37 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him… Continue reading Of circuitous routes and cleansing sighs
Why congregations need to show grace to their leaders. Satan and his demons will do anything to silence the Church. When external persecution is impractical for whatever reason, they exploit human frailties within individual churches. Leaders, especially pastors and priests, find themselves in complex moral, social, and cultural battles on a regular basis. The Church… Continue reading Show yourself beautiful
John 21:15-18 You have to appreciate Peter. He's an all-or-nothing kind of guy who cannot hide his feelings or control what comes out of his mouth. He makes big claims and even bigger mistakes. And Jesus clearly loves that about him. In that love, Jesus also teaches, disciplines, and molds Peter into the apostle who… Continue reading Lessons from a charcoal fire
Sometimes God's answer to prayer is us. remix: Hanna-Barbera/Justice League Wonder Twins (CC BY-NC-SA) My brothers and I grew up in the 1970s. Saturday mornings were for cartoons of fantastical places and magical powers (and the occasional monster-puppet.) Typically, some distraught character would cry out for help and in the blink of an eye, a… Continue reading Activate!
An approach to grace through the wisdom of James It has been a long week since the Supreme Court struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Responses included protests and threats, fear and anxiety, joy and exultation, determination and delight-- both within the Church and in the broader secular culture. Extreme reactions to national… Continue reading Grace when courts decide
misunderstood verses #8 Remix by author Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the… Continue reading James 5:15
How Noah responded to the grace of the Lord and what that means for us GRACE: charitos (χάριτος) Charis (Χάρις) appears more than 150 times in the Bible, mostly in the letters written by Paul. The first usage of the concept, however, is not for first-century Christians, but for pre-Abrahamic Noah (Genesis 6:8) when the… Continue reading Grace and Gopher wood
Defaulting to Grace 