Forgiveness is an act which encompasses much more than saying "that's okay", and we understand that instinctively when we ask for it: we want a chance to prove ourselves, to show we are more than our misbehavior, to not have an act or a series of acts define our identities or others' perceptions of us. [Click title to read more.]
Category: Christianity
Cliff Notes: The Lost Art of Bible Study In The Church (Part I)
Devotionals and commentaries and Christian books, while valuable to learning and spiritual growth, aren't the Bible itself. And I am convinced that one of the biggest struggles modern Christians will face is being unable, or unwilling, to make that distinction. [Click title to read more.]
Bringing Biblical Hospitality Into The Present Day
Outside the church, we have to handle hospitality on our own. Believers still open their hearts and homes to people, but more likely than not we already know those people, and like them. We entertain, but entertaining doesn't always mean we're "loving strangers." Most of us won't come into direct contact with weary travelers crossing the land and looking for a place to stay. So what does hospitality look like in the modern age?
Weekly Round-Up
Let's catch up, pray, and rest together.
Why Taking Photographs Is Part Of My Spiritual Walk
I am a "head person." By that, I mean I'm always thinking or daydreaming or pondering or analyzing or wondering. It's just how I am, but by virtue of being that way I'm not always present in the moment or focused on what's happening around me. Taking photographs, however, forces me out of my head and into the moment.
The Cult of the Pastor
The danger...is when devotion to a pastor supersedes devotion to a church.
Focusing on Ourselves
What Jesus demonstrates here to the disciples is that it isn't our job to police the world in His name. If others are glorifying Christ - if others are doing good works in His name - Jesus' response is "Don't stop them." Don't hold people back. Don't intervene. Even if you think you can do it better. Even if you don't get it. Even if it's irritating. [Click title to read more.]
The Importance of Remembering Death
Our culture rarely deals intimately with death any more: we have cordoned it off, confined it to funeral homes and hospitals, done everything to keep it separate from us as we try to think up ways and means to evade the inevitable ourselves. But it wasn't always that way. And I suspect that in the interim, something has been lost.
The Forgotten Children
There are girls I think of often. One was my best friend as a child. In the third grade, we cut holes into trash bags and then put them on so we could be black horses, and pranced around in the yard neighing and pretending uncooked spaghetti was hay. She visited me all the time, … Continue reading The Forgotten Children
Book Review: Evangelism for the Rest Of Us: Sharing Christ Within Your Personality Style
Do you associate the word "evangelism" with handing out tracts, seeking out strangers with whom to share the plan of salvation, and "formulas" meant to explain or advertise the gospel to others? Do these methods seem alien, uncomfortable, or cold to you? If so, Mike Bechtle's Evangelism For the Rest of Us is a book you absolutely must read. [Click title to read more.]
Samaritan's Song 