Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
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I’ve sinned against you—you alone. I’ve committed evil in your sight…Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin, from the moment my mother conceived me. — Psalm 51:4-5 These are David’s words after he admitted his guilt in his affair with Bathsheba, which entailed having her husband Uriah murdered. Pretty bad, sinful stuff. And he …
“You have heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away and returning to you.’” — John 14:28 The spiritual life, for me, is filled with ups and downs. There are times when everything clicks and you feel Jesus’ closeness, but most of the time he seems far away. It’s like the Transfiguration story. You’re walking along …
In the years leading up the 2019 General Conference of the UMC, I had been a strong supporter of the “One Church Plan.” That proposal was intended to keep United Methodism from fracturing over the issue of human sexuality. It would have empowered local churches, conferences, and clergy to decide about LGBTQ+ ordination and same-sex …
Who put wisdom in remote places, or who gave understanding to a rooster… –Job 38:36 …or to a mama sparrow? I’m amazed each spring how Mr. and Ms. House Sparrow take up residence on our front porch. They build/mend the nest by the porch light with the meticulousness of a surgeon. Then mama fritters and fusses until three …
“And don’t lead us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” — Matthew 6:13 In the typical turbulence of teenhood, I remember very well looking ahead in life and imagining what the world would offer. Money, fun, etc. The future was wide open and, in the optimism (or folly) of youth, I could …
It seemed very bad to Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” so he prayed to the Lord. The Lord answered Samuel, “Comply with the people’s request—everything they ask of you—because they haven’t rejected you. No, they’ve rejected me as king over them.” — 1 Samuel 8:6-7 It’s shaping up to be quite an …
God saw everything he had made: it was supremely good. — Genesis 1:31 A recurring theme in these meditations is that it is impossible be truly spiritual if we lose touch with the physical. In a talk given by Father Richard Rohr, he stressed the absolute importance of connecting to the earth. “One of the …
Let the person who has ears, hear. — Matthew 11:15 I love this phrase “fearlessly listening,” coined by Henri Nouwen. He said it characterized how Jesus related to his Father. Wouldn’t it be transformative if it also characterized how we related to each other? Active listening involves two things: Focusing on what the person is saying instead …
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I didn’t come preaching God’s secrets to you like I was an expert in speech or wisdom. I had made up my mind not to think about anything while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and to preach him as crucified. — 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 Recently I …
Let those who want me dead be humiliated and put to shame. Let those who intend to hurt me be thoroughly frustrated and disgraced. Let them be like dust on the wind–and let the Lord’s messenger be the one who does the blowing! — Psalm 35:4-6 Probably if we were honest, the above words from …