Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
He found in the temple those who were selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as those involved in exchanging currency sitting there. He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out… — John 2:14-15 One Sunday morning a man whose appearance resembled our image of Jesus—long brown hair, white robe, sandals—showed up at …
“I go to prepare a place for you…” – John 14:2 (NRSV) Whenever I need to go to a happy place, my mind wanders back decades to one evening on the farm. It’s late spring, just after sunset. I’m in the johnboat on the small lake down the hill from our house. Deep crimson and …
After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me….Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives?” – Mark 8:34,36b You never know when or where the wisdom of Jesus will pop …
But the people refused to listen to Samuel and said, “No! There must be a king over us so we can be like all the other nations.” – 1 Samuel 8:19-20a This passage reveals the make-or-break point of faith. Israel started out trusting the manna-giving God then, when safe and secure, they wanted a king. That …
“Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” Right away, they left their nets and followed him. – Matthew 4:19-20 After following Jesus for fifty-plus years, I still can’t figure it out. Why do I take seriously someone who supposedly lived 2,000 years ago? It really doesn’t make sense. The …
He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” – Matthew 22:37-40 One …
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 …
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 …
“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, …
With the Judicial Council’s recent decision that central elements of the Traditional Plan are constitutional, the trajectory of United Methodism has been set for the immediate future. There will be no Book of Discipline-approved ordination of homosexuals, nor will there be same-sex marriages performed without harsh penalties. The resulting uproar in the aftermath of the …