Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
Because you are sons and daughters, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” – Galatians 4:6 The childhood of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, bore similarities to an Army boot camp. Everything was done on a rigid schedule. Any disobedience was punished swiftly, often with the “rod.” And …
God made every kind of wildlife, every kind of livestock, and every kind of creature that crawls on the ground. God saw how good it was. – Genesis 1:25 While sheltering in place, I’m binge-ing on some documentaries. One of my favorites is a Netflix series titled “Absurd Planet.” It highlights the strangest looking and …
A competent wife, how does one find her?… Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. – Proverbs 31:10a, 30 You can bet that when a man starts a conversation with, “I don’t mean to sound sexist, but…”, he will indeed sound sexist. Once he does, there’s no easy …
One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice. – Luke 17:15 In Jesus’ encounter with ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19), Luke says the lepers “kept their distance” from him. Thus is the earliest reference to social distancing. And from that distance, they cry out for …
Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people… Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:5-7 I’m writing …
On the Sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were surprised. “Where did this man get all this? What’s this wisdom he’s been given? What about the powerful acts accomplished through him? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t he Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his …
They were saying to each other, “Who’s going to roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” – Mark 16:3 The women going to anoint Jesus’ body after the Crucifixion should have planned better. Wouldn’t they have thought, before leaving, about the stone being a problem? Maybe they didn’t plan because nobody thinks clearly …
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. — John 3:16 The first time I cried as a parent was when my son began his first-grade career. There was just something heartbreaking seeing him climb up those steps …
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. – 1 John 4:18a I was about six when my dad and I took an overnight train to Chicago. It was high adventure for me. We were in a sleeping car, with fold-out-from-the-wall bunk beds. I was in the upper, and dad in the lower. In the middle …
[NOTE: The weekly schedule of Monday Meditations returns tomorrow.] Through faith they conquered kingdoms, brought about justice, realized promises, shut the mouths of lions, put out raging fires… – Hebrews 11:33 I admire, and greatly appreciate, first responders. There’s nothing more inspiring than people who literally put their lives on the line for the sake of …