Learning to love others the way Jesus loves us
God uses our brokenness for His glory Kintsugi, literally "joining with gold," is a centuries-old Japanese technique of fixing broken ceramics. When a piece of pottery breaks, the pieces are put together, not with invisible glue so no one sees the flaws, but rather with gold lacquer so that the fracture is obvious. These repaired… Continue reading Broken and Beloved
Political affiliation must be secondary to our affiliation with the people of God. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9-10). "For our boast… Continue reading Everything is Secondary, part 3
A five-part series about priorities This is a five-session devotion considering the pre-eminence of Jesus over everything else in this mortal life. Ideology has taken over faith in many churches and among many people who call themselves Christian. I don't think anyone will argue that the world is bitterly divided in 2024. Wars, both heavily… Continue reading Everything is Secondary
God has prepared us for this very thing-Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! It's cold here in the South today. Nothing like what my friends in the North and Midwest experience, but when the temperature is below freezing for most of a week, these California-born fingers struggle to move. I can't sit close… Continue reading Fear is not all-powerful
I am sitting in my living room. There is a fire in the fireplace. One dog is next to me and the other is sound asleep at my feet. My husband is in his recliner preparing for the work week. Michigan beat Alabama; the Longhorns and Huskies are tied. It has been a bus day,… Continue reading Word for 2024
An Advent devotion in four parts Of the Father’s love begotten,ere the worlds began to be,He is Alpha and Omega,He the Source, the Ending He,of the things that are, that have been,and that future years shall seeevermore and evermore! Aurelius Clemens Prudentius Part of my mission with Defaulting to Grace is to bind together followers… Continue reading Of the Father’s love begotten
9-25-23 Yom Kippur (G'mar chatimah tovah) "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites” Leviticus 16:34 Today is Yom Kippur, the most holy day of the Jewish calendar. It is the day named Atonement by the Lord Himself, set… Continue reading גְּמַר חֲתִימָה טוֹבָה
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
Misunderstood verses #3 Misunderstood Have you heard this lately? It's popular with purveyors of the prosperity doctrine who teach that God wants everyone to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Benjamin Franklin is the author of the aphorism "Early to bed, early to rise…" and he may have been a deist, but he didn't pretend to… Continue reading John 14:14
Misunderstood, misapplied, and misused verse #1 Misinterpreted How many times do people say only part of Romans 8:28 and that out of context? Scripture must always be interpreted in context and in its entirety. The first mistake with this misunderstood quote is that it only uses part of the verse. Here is the whole thing:… Continue reading Romans 8:28
Defaulting to Grace 