Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
“Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? If you can’t do such a small thing, why worry about the rest?” –Luke 12:25-26 Just as we can be enslaved by seeking the conditional love of others, so can we enslave ourselves by our self-chosen problems and projects. I have a …
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” –Luke 2:32 (NRSV) Father Henri Nouwen once said that if we are concerned with the world’s “if’s,” then we are destined to be enslaved. We look for love, and the world gives it… “if.” If you think like me, …
I am relieved by the proposal recently hammered out by the inclusive, high-level mediating group dealing with the future of our denomination. If it ends up being presented at, and approved by, the 2020 General Conference in May, then the decades-old wrangling over gay ordination and same-sex marriage may finally come to an end. It …
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. I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.–Revelation 21:1-2 And to Think That …
“Yet [I] came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’” –Matthew 11:19a One evening at bedtime, I asked my son Cameron, who was five, what he’d like to thank God for. He replied, of course, “I don’t know.” “Well, what makes you happy? …
Luke 18:35-19:10 The two characters in the passage from Luke aren’t very lovable. One is a whiny blind beggar with an attitude problem. The other is a corrupt businessman who extorts taxes from his fellow citizens. Social media would have lit up these two men. Insults, stereotypes, rumors. But since such postings wouldn’t happen for …
He will rest in His love for you; He will joyfully sing because of you like a new husband. – Zephaniah 3:17 (The Voice) I’ve officiated at hundreds of weddings. Each was unique and special. There was one, though, that made a lasting impression on me. It was that of a young couple, freshly graduated from college. …
If you’re looking for book suggestions for 2020, you can find some ideas at the Book of the Month page on my website. Each month I post a selection that has been thought provoking and helpful to me. Maybe you’ll find one or two that might interest you. There’s a link on each selection where …
The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. –Luke 1:30-31 If I were God, I would have arranged things differently. First, no angel during Mary and Joseph’s engagement. That way they could have had the traditional, multi-day, …
But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ. –Philippians 3:8 Paul was graphic at times, a reflection of his uncensored …