When you feel overwhelmed in exposing truth, remember this: people are sacred, created in the image of God. Systems are not. They are only worth the people in them and the people they serve. And people are to be treated, whether one or many, the way Jesus Christ...
03229 – The Heart Cannot Pray by Itself
But it is a dangerous error, surely very widespread among Christians, to think that the heart can pray by itself. For then we confuse wishes, hopes, sighs, laments, rejoicing--all of which the heart can do by itself--with prayer. And we confuse heaven and earth, human...
03212 – Spotting Jesus Followers
Hey, if you aren’t much into religion, you may not know how to recognize followers of Jesus. If you are interested and have a curious mind, I can tell you that Jesus himself gave a direct, simple way to spot them. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples...
03200 – Step into the Flow
Through Jesus Christ, we are invited into the flow of God's energy running through this universe. Moving into that good current doesn't require us to work harder, serve more, or first get our stuff together. Stepping into this current simply requires surrender -...
03192 – Now We are Different
We used to hate and destroy one another, and we refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people, and we pray for our enemies.
03190 – Asking God “Why?”
Rather than ask why God wanted Jesus to die the way he did, we should ask why God wanted Jesus to live the way he did and why this way of life led us to want to kill him.
03170 – Just as God Intended
It is mysterious, but somehow, when everything else is stripped away, we find ourselves sitting [at Christ's table] in the abundance that remains. We encounter sustenance for the journey, companions for the road ahead, and the body and blood of Christ, which invites...
03151 – Theology and the Thief on the Cross
How does the thief on the cross fit into your theology? No baptism, no communion, no confirmation, no speaking in tongues, no mission trip, no volunteerism, and no church clothes. He couldn't even bend his knees to pray. He didn't say the sinner's prayer and among...
03129 – It’s a Gift!
The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the holy power that life itself comes from. You can survive on...
03123 – Literalism…or Not
[On finding depth of meaning and experiencing transformation in Scripture: literal or *literary* truth…] If literalism is your bridge to Jesus, if it is the only way you access Jesus, then I promise you: I am not trying to take it away from you. I just hope that you...