Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Upsplash
Our deepest freedom rests not in our freedom to do what we want to do but rather in our freedom to become who God wills us to be. —James Finley
The Old Testament Josiah stands out as one of the few kings of Israel credited for his goodness in the eyes of the Lord. In the wake of his father’s abuses of the faith and desecration of the Temple, Josiah focused his reign on…..
As Americans, we still live in the shadow of a “fire and brimstone” preaching legacy. Too many people associate God with a wagging finger, scolding us for being “naughty” and threatening us with Hell if we fail to behave.
It’s not as if I don’t believe in sin. The problem lies in the way…..
Whether we admit it or not, most of us want to believe in heaven as the place we go when we die. Its notion that there we will live “happily ever after” echoes our primal fairy tale mentality.
Because of this, some people doubt the Easter story of Jesus’s resurrection as…..
Earlier this week I was reading a blog that referred to a saying: “Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a different past.” I’d never heard it before, but the minute I read it, I felt struck with insight.
I’ve said before that outsiders to faith sometimes see the…..
I don’t know about you, but when I hear the word, “Repent!” I’m picturing a crazy person with a placard proclaiming the end of the world. Somehow it seems difficult to treat the idea of “repenting” seriously.
Maybe it’s because we think only really big wrongs call for repentance……
Years ago I rented the movie, “The Sixth Sense,” famous for its surprise ending. Unfortunately, while I was in the video store, I had heard people talking about the movie and, about halfway through watching it myself, I realized their comments had clued me in to the twist at…..
A further imagining based on Matthew 9:18-26/Mark 5:21-43/Luke 8:40-56 and Luke 8:1-3. A continuation of last week’s post New Life.
In the months that followed her healing, Johanna, who had lived twelve years an outcast, now found herself embraced with community. As much as she could, she joined along with the women…..
A further imaging based on Matthew 9:18-26/Mark 5:21-43/Luke 8:40-56 and Luke 8:1-3. See my post The Touch for the beginning of the story.
It wasn’t a dream. Johanna woke up the morning after the Rabbi had healed her hemorrhaging, savoring her newfound cleanliness. Samuel rested peacefully beside her, doubtlessly still…..
Christianity faces a tall order in explaining God’s forgiveness. On the surface, it just seems too simple. A person can do any evil, and God guarantees a full pardon? Paul anticipates the problem in Romans 6:15 – “So should we sin more that grace may abound? Of course not!”
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While it’s easy to cast blame on others, dealing with our own misdeeds can really trip us up. Instinctively, we know guilt is toxic to us.
We have so many ways to evade feeling guilty – excuses and rationales to make us believe “there’s nothing to feel guilty about.”…..