Christianity, Scholarship, Service
I don't think we often realize it, but sometimes Christian confidence expressed in the wrong way can look a lot like Christian callousness - even when it's well-meaning. And compassion is the only way to leaven it. [Click title to read more.]
I fear that, over time, the church has lost its grasp of what fellowship actually is. We've reduced it to a positive, feel-good form of engagement: bonding at a Bible study, chatting over chips and dips, believers going out in kayaks together. And that's surely a part of fellowship, but not the entirety of it. Fellowship is what ought to happen - what needs to happen - at these crisis points when egregious wrongs have been committed and everyone is (justifiably!) angry and hurt. [Click title to read more.]
One of the blessings of growing older in Christ has been the simple knowledge that I can only control so much. [Click title to read more.]
An overt focus on the self can be devastating. [Click title to read more.]
So much of the Bible emphasizes listening, avoiding careless or hasty speech, and being considerate of others. And so much of that is because we don't know the hidden depths of each human we meet, nor can we understand their hopes and fears and dreams and struggles. [Click title to read more.]
It's not necessarily wrong to avoid pain, and to do what we can to minimize the pain, discomfort, fear, or grief in our lives. But a lot of us need to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable. [Click title to read more.]
This week: if necessary, could you sacrifice even your dearest plans and expectations to fulfill the desires that God has for you? [Click title to read more.]
