One Country, Two Views

In the quest to be broadminded, I’m reading two opposing books. One is Newt Gingrich’s Beyond Biden: Rebuilding the America We Love. The other is Jon Meacham’s The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels. I want to see the underlying assumptions of each writer, and why they write what they write. I …

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Monday Meditation: Pharaoh’s Voice (November 29)

The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites.  They made their lives miserable with hard labor, making mortar and bricks, doing field work, and by forcing them to do all kinds of other cruel work. – Exodus 1:13-14 The late theologian Marcus Borg said in a lecture, “There’s a ‘mental Pharaoh’ that each of us hears.” “Mental Pharaoh.” How …

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MONDAY MEDITATION: The Disappearing Jesus (November 22)

Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts on fire when he spoke to us along the road and when he explained the scriptures for us?” – Luke 24:31-32 I don’t want Jesus to disappear, and I’m sure you don’t, either. In …

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MONDAY MEDITATION: Dropping the Staff (November 15)

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t trust me to show my holiness before the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I am giving them.” – Numbers 20:12 You’ll find a really weird story in Numbers 20:1-13. The complaining Israelites are thirsty as they wander in the wilderness. Moses takes …

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selective focus photography of group of monarch butterflies perching on purple lavender flower

MONDAY MEDITATION: Life Starts in the Grave (November 8)

So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! – 2 Corinthians 5:17 During a worship team meeting, we were brainstorming about a theme for Easter. Someone suggested butterflies. My inner arrogance kicked in, and I thought to myself, “Great. So …

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MONDAY MEDITATION: Living the Dream (November 1)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. – Revelation 21:1 Sometimes I think the Good News comes down to this: You are now free to live God’s dream on earth. Jesus outlined it in the Sermon on the Mount. What does a …

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MONDAY MEDITATION: If the Bible Was Only One Verse (October 25)

He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” – Luke 10:27 As I’ve lived with the Bible for decades, one fundamental truth has made itself clear: How we interpret the Bible reflects who we are at the time we’re interpreting it. For example, as a teenage Christian I …

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