Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
Go, eat your food joyfully and drink your wine happily, because God has already accepted what you do. — Ecclesiastes 9:7 The most important rule in studying the Bible is this: Whenever you read a passage, see what comes before and after it. Right before the verse above, the “Teacher” (as the writer of Ecclesiastes …
“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 …
As I see social media posts and read stories and blogs, I grow more convinced that we choose our own reality. As Father Richard Rohr expressed, “People with a distorted image of self, world, or God will be largely incapable of experiencing what is Really Real in the world. They’ll see instead what they need …
Once the apostles and other believers heard this, they calmed down. They praised God and concluded, “So then God has enabled Gentiles to change their hearts and lives so that they might have new life.” — Acts 11:18 A lot is packed into the above verse. The setting is when the church leaders in Jerusalem …
“Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask.” — Matthew 6:8 I’m a planner. Always have been, always will be. I look ahead, anticipate things, and strategize to either make good things happen or keep bad things from happening. Planners, by definition, have difficulty relinquishing control. That’s not exactly …
But Jesus overheard their report and said to the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid; just keep trusting.” — Mark 5:36 If you read Mark 5:21-43, you get a clear picture of both Jesus’ compassion as well as faith. The synagogue leader had come to Jesus asking him to heal his daughter. However, word came that …
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone throwing demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.” — Mark 9:38 Why did John say that to Jesus? Did he assume that, because Jesus had chosen him, other people weren’t chosen? Did he think that he had a …
Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her. — Luke 1:38 Here’s a story I found somewhere that gets to the heart of what believing in God really means. A Bible translator in India was working to translate the New Testament into one of …
Every so often you run across a quote that stops and makes you think, like this one from Rev. Molly Phinney Baskette: “Our faith, frail as it is sometimes, is also flexible. It is self-correcting as we have profound encounters with people who are different from us and are exposed to new experiences and ideas.” …
But Jesus was in the rear of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. They woke him up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re drowning?” – Mark 4:38 Well, that seems like an appropriate question. If my boat is taking in water and going to sink, and I see a guy sleeping, I’d think …