For Jesus, peace seems to have meant not the absence of struggle but the presence of love. from Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC
00977 – Peace: The Presence of Love
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00941 – Surrender is the Most Christian Prayer
Surrender—putting one’s life at God’s disposal—is the most truly Christian prayer. It is the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane—”Not my will, but thine.” It is the heart of the prayer Jesus taught the apostles—”Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth...
00922 – Peace in Our Hearts
As you announce peace with your mouth, make sure that greater peace is in your hearts… For we have been called to heal wounds, to bind up the broken, and to call home any who have lost their way.
00910 – Music: A Gift of God
I wish to see all arts, principally music, in the service of Him who gave and created them. Music is a fair and glorious gift of God. I would not for the world forego my humble share of music. Singers are never sorrowful, but are merry, and smile through their...
00822 – Creating Our Own Peace & Reason
The world has been abnormal for so long that we’ve forgotten what it’s like to live in a peaceful and reasonable climate. If there is to be any peace or reason, we have to create it in our own hearts and homes.
00813 – Worship is a Transitive Verb
Should we not remind ourselves that worship is a transitive verb? We do not meet to worship (i.e. to experience worship); we aim to worship God. “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only”; there is the heart of the matter. In this area, one must not confuse what...
00809 – Worship: An It-is-Well-with-My-Soul Experience
In worship there is divine action. In our celebration of Christ, something happens. There is an action from above: the Holy Spirit delivers Christ and the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection to the worshipers. In other words, in worship our relationship with...
00748 – Knowing God Imperfectly
The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.
00594 – Being Alone with God
That moment was life transforming. Something deep in my spirit was being settled once and for all. From this moment there could be no turning back; there could be no erasure of the indelible imprint of its power. I was alone with God. A holy God. An awesome God. A God...
00506 – Choose New Life
The sad things that happened long ago will always remain part of who we are, just as the glad and gracious things will, too, but instead of being a burden of guilt, recrimination, and regret that make us constantly stumble as we go, even the saddest things can become,...