Tag: faith and growth

The Importance of Active Remembering

For humans who are always living in the present moment, remembering is hard. The great works that God did for you five years ago can lose their luster next to the problems of today. The fundamental nature of Christ's act of love can be lost when our focus wanders to other things. So active remembering is a practice that Christians must cultivate daily. [Click title to read more.]

The Art of Shifting Perspective

There are times when I simply don't understand people: why they do what they do, why they care about what they do, why they're concerned about something that seems insignificant to me. I suspect most of us have that problem from time to time, and it can challenge our ability to show compassion. [Click title to read more.]

What Does Christian Disagreement Look Like?

I'm the sort of person who apologizes even without having done anything wrong, just to smooth over an argument; I hesitate before taking a stance that might cause conflict. And yet the more I study, the more I realize that Christian disagreement both with believers and nonbelievers can be a beautiful, productive thing: we just have to learn the skill and then hone it over time. [Click title to read more.]

Cliff Notes: The Lost Art of Bible Study In The Church (Part 3)

In the first post in this series I spent some time discussing the dangers of Bible-lite, that phenomenon when Christians substitute secondhand study of God's word for actual Bible study. In the second, I talked about some of the consequences of Bible-lite. Today, however, I'll be putting on my professor hat to offer some solutions to the problem. If you struggle with studying the Bible (or even with wanting to study the Bible!), there is both help and hope. [Click title to read more].

Why Forgiveness Is More Complex Than We Imagine

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.]

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.]