Outside of community I can go along believing all sorts of nonsense about myself. In community my delusions are quickly stripped away. Let me give you a concrete example of this, not in the context of church, but from my work life. The principle remains the same. It is when we move from the abstract to the concrete that we have any chance to understand ourselves.
What Kind of Tree Are You?
The following is derived from a sermon I delivered at Wonderful Mercy Church. You can listen to the full message online. Before reading on, take a moment to read Galatians 5:1, 13-25. The link will take you the New Living Translation, but feel free to use whatever translation you like. When You've read the Galatians …
“Screwtape” on Freedom
Has a previously unknown letter from Screwtape to Wormwood come to light? What might the Devil say about spiritual bondage?
What Does Your Heart Desire?
The process of spiritual formation, the internal transformation of souls, is a life-long pursuit for Christians and can be a difficult and confusing journey. As with any journey, we need to know two key things: where we are and where we are going. If we do not know where we are now, it may be …
Climbing the Mountain of God
In the beginning the way is broad and easy. The road is smooth and the ascent is barely noticeable. I walk happily and easily along the gentle slopes. I have my pack well-stocked an and on my back. I also have my wooden two-wheeled cart, loaded with my most cherished possessions. Even loaded as heavily …
When the Fruit Fails
Have you found that God seems to begin some good work in you only to have it seem to evaporate, to disappear, as if it had never been there at all? He may have begun some emotional healing, restoring some relationship, or bringing some fresh awareness or understanding in your life. Then, some time later you discover that what you thought was being born in you seems to have been illusory. To use the metaphor of grapes growing on a vine, we see the small, round new grapes appear on the vine, but then, as time goes on, instead of maturing to ripeness, the grapes have withered and died.
Here is look at what may have happened.
Belief is the Easy Part (Relatively)
For many of us, coming to believe in Jesus as Messiah and the son of God was a hard, hard, thing to do. I know it was for me. Indeed, Scripture tells us that we can't come to belief on our own, it is only through God's grace. “For it was only through this wonderful …
Why God Doesn’t Have My Artwork on His Refrigerator
At sometime or another, nearly every parent's refrigerator starts to resemble an art gallery. We take the wonderful, if not fully recognizable, artistic renderings our children produce and put them on display on the 'fridge door. But I think my Father in heaven doesn't have much of my artwork on his 'fridge. Why not? Because …
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The Love of a Father
A touching Father's Day story of a father's love for his son is a good reminder of our heavenly father's love for us.
It Is Time to Choose a Side!
We can chose Jesus' side, which allows no divisions. Everyone is part of us. Or we can chose the world's side, a life of constantly deciding who is in and who is out, whom we should love and whom we can marginalize, and struggling to maintain our place on the right side of countless lines we …
