Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you, just as we also forgive those who have wronged us. – Matthew 6:12 Father Henri Nouwen wrote, “Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly.” (From his You Are the Beloved) How do we love poorly? …
I hope this finds each of you in the midst of a sacred and joyful Christmas season, blessed by the love of Jesus and of the special people in your life. I ran across this Christmas prayer and wanted to share it with you. I don’t know who wrote it, but I found it very …
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned. – Isaiah 9:2 In all the sweetness of Christmas, which we should enjoy, we should also remember what an incredibly powerful statement the birth of Christ makes. When Isaiah used the phrase “pitch-dark land,” he …
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 …
I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry,Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? – Psalm 8:3-4 (The Message) Why “take a second look our way,” indeed? We humans have a default setting of …
A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds… – Luke 10:33-34a In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus got right to the heart of the matter. What you believe is totally irrelevant …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …