Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
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You make grass grow for cattle; you make plants for human farming in order to get food from the ground, and wine, which cheers people’s hearts, along with oil, which makes the face shine, and bread, which sustains the human heart. — Psalm 104:14-15 My family looks forward to an annual tradition. Once a year …
Truth examines the heart and hears what is said. — Wisdom of Solomon 1:6* Conspiracy theories have always been popular. Religious authorities thought Jesus wanted to overthrow them. Political authorities have been quick to cast blame on perceived conspirators, such as what Hitler did with the Jews. In a contemporary context, conspiracy theories explain why …
In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives. — Luke 15:7 Today’s verse comes at the end of Jesus’ story about a shepherd leaving 99 …
Someone else said to Jesus, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say good-bye to those in my house.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand on the plow and looks back is fit for God’s kingdom.” — Luke 9:61-62 It’s inevitable if you live long enough. You look around at …
[Demetrius said,] “You can see and hear that this Paul has convinced and misled a lot of people, not only in Ephesus but also throughout most of the province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands aren’t really gods.”…Once they heard this, they were beside themselves with anger and began to shout, …
You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden…Let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven. — Matthew 5:14, 16 There’s a nature trail near our house. Walking it one day, I …
Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness. — Isaiah 43:19 On our trip to Scotland last fall, I saw a trend that was a bit shocking at first. It seemed that if you saw a big, old church somewhere, …
You are the one who created my innermost parts; you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb. — Psalm 139:13 Here’s a fun exercise to put mortality into perspective. Google, “What was the most popular car in the year I was born?” It turns out for me, in 1953, it was the Chevrolet (not …
Just then, Jesus’ disciples arrived and were shocked that he was talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” — John 4:27 The current emphasis upon migrant deportation and the turning away of people seeking asylum is heartbreaking. The foreigner in our land has …
Bring in your kingdom so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven. — Matthew 6:10 I see the Lord’s Prayer as something more than a model of how to pray or as something we say as a religious act. I see it as affirming our loyalty to the Father’s kingdom. …