When we move, we pack up and then unpack our stuff, choosing to keep what is still useful to us and giving away or selling what no longer works for us. Whether we are moving to a bigger place or downsizing, we choose to move with what suits our new life. The same is true […]
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, honor those who mistreat you.” That quote is from Luke 6. Matthew 5 puts it this way: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” And he goes […]
I’ve just finished reading two classic 20th century Christian books, Discovering the Depths by William Clemmons and The Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly. I feel like I have been swimming in the depths of Christian life. I have read some 15 books written about living a deeper Christian life this spring, but these two […]
To face and embrace ourselves is the only way that we can bring our whole selves to God in love, as Jesus commanded.[Matthew 22:36-40] This passage means to come to God naked, hiding nothing, totally open to him. There are no longer any walls in us that would protect our guilt and shame from ourselves […]
A recurring theme that I write about is this: that belief in Jesus Christ being the Son of God is merely the first step in a journey with Christ. And “being born again” or surrendering our lives to God is a second step. These are early steps along the way. After these two steps comes […]
I was praying a month or so ago with my hands open, palms up—not my usual hand position– when this phrase came to mind, “Open-handed, open-hearted, open-minded.” I was going to add open-souled when I realized that the soul is the part of us that is always open to God. Then I found this passage […]
“If God is your co-pilot change seats!” read the sign at Avondale Presbyterian Church in Charlotte for a week or more this February. This sign amused me because I have long thought of my life as an airplane with God as the pilot and me the co-pilot. There is a lot of back and forth […]
We know exactly what it feels like to be obedient. We toe the line. We do exactly what is expected of us. We follow each and every rule, crossing every “t” and dotting every “I” so that we get it exactly right. This is how we as children had to remember to behave, because it […]
A big reason why we don’t follow Jesus, why we get stuck in beliefs without the real relationship with Christ, why we limit what the Gospel is telling us so it is palatable and pretty easy to follow, is this: we’re too focused on ourselves and not on God. We are pretty naturally self-involved […]
One of the great lessons I learned in 37 years of marriage was this: when Hank was mad at me, I had triggered some memory in him that caused him to react, but that I was not the source of his anger. Inadvertently I might have pushed his buttons, and on some days, maybe I […]