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A Lament
I don’t write poetry or songs. I can barely write sentences. But my heart is broken and I need to let loose in a lament. I’m not the psalmist and it isn’t inspired. The feeling of loss is overwhelming at times. I believe in healing and ask for healing and yet I watch people lose those battles. It isn’t a…
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The Gospel of Sin-Management
Originally posted on Apprentice 2 Jesus: The process of following Christ is often thought of in terms of outward change. There should be something that look different in the believer. On the “conservative” side of Christianity, sin management is found in having our sins forgiven. (Maybe you’ve seen a bumper sticker that says, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”) On the…
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The Church That Ate Its Own
We really like this stuff. (I was so tempted to say, “We really eat this up.“) Tales from the crypt about horrible church experiences. Bad church. BAD CHURCH! And we shake our all too righteous fingers at it like it’s a dog that just wet the carpet. But… it makes headlines… and we eat it up. (Sorry. The metaphor is too good.) Write…
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The Triumph of the Church
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at…
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What did Eisenhower call it?
I believe Eisenhower, himself a career soldier, warned of the “vast military industrial complex” when he was leaving office as President. Yesterday in a passing conversation with a veteran, he noted his daughter, who served in the Air Force, was not “qualified” to be in the VFW because she served in a small 5 year window when the U.S. happened…
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Ancient Paths are So Cutting Edge
The Lord proclaims:Stop at the crossroads and look around; ask for the ancient paths. Where is the good way?Then walk in it and find a resting place for yourselves. But you said, “We won’t go!” (Jer. 6:16) Ancient paths really aren’t so “cutting edge.” It’s the invitation of God. When someone under 40 mentions them, then they seem so “cutting edge,” but the realization is those paths have been…
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Thankfulness
A great exercise on Facebook is thanking God for something every day in November. I don’t do it. I know I will miss something. But I was thinking about people and WHO I am thankful for. I jotted down names in my journal, giving thanks for each one, and honestly thinking maybe I could just cover one post with 31…
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How’s your forehead look?
Translation fun. The literal use of a word, which the ESV uses in Jeremiah 3:3 is, um, not helpful. Here is a comparison at Biblegateway. Strengths and weaknesses of translations are a key reason I like having so much available either online (like Biblegateway) or digitally (like Olive Tree or Logos). Just watch out for your forehead!
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Jeremiah and the broken heart
I grew up with the phrase describing Jeremiah as “the weeping prophet.” As I read through this powerful book once again, I find myself in a place of feeling that heart break. “Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you and tore away the chains of your slavery, but still you said, ‘I will not serve you.’ On every…
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The Dragon and the Beast
4 They worshipped the dragon because it had given the beast its authority. They worshipped the beast and said, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” (Rev. 13:4) Every culture and every age has its “beast” and “dragon.” Every culture does not see the thing they worship as a “beast.” Spiritual strongholds are strongholds because we do not…
