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Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday: When the World Falls Silent The Cross has spoken.The tomb is still closed.The dream has been buried.The world holds its breath.
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Crisis of faith and the glory of the Cross
“Many believers have a crisis of faith every few days, yet in the midst of grave misgivings they continue to build their lives upon the confession of faith in Jesus Christ as found in Holy Scripture. We may trust that Paul and the other witnesses were neither dupes nor deceivers, and we may claim for ourselves the words Paul wrote,…
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The cross is the difference
“The cross is ‘irreligious’ because no human being individually or human beings collectively would have projected their hopes, wishes, longings, and needs onto a crucified man… Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central focus the suffering and degradation of its God.” (Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion)
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All out prayer
In the task of waiting, as the Lord has been reminding me recently, there is the urgency of prayer. As you are waiting… pray. Prayer is not just a matter of having big blocks of time to “be in prayer.” It is also to pray without ceasing. To learn to breathe prayer throughout the day is a huge exercise in…
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The mystery of prayer
Some thoughts from N.T. Wright in The Challenge of Acts:
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Darkness does not win
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:4-5, NIV) I have this text in mind as I read through the life of Bonhoeffer. Currently, I am searching out the opinions of those scholars who believed Bonhoeffer was only “assassin-adjacent,” so to speak, along with those…
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The place of joy
It hit me with the force of joy. Happiness is what we experience as we celebrate the achievements of the self — winning a prize. Joy is what we feel when we are encompassed by a presence that transcends the self. We create happiness, but are seized by joy — in my case by the sensation that I had just…
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Faith
James 2:14–18 (NIV) 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs,…
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Jesus and the Powers, Part 7
There are governments to resist. We wrestle with the need to submit to a point and then how to resist when there are violations of conscience and crossing allegiances, but then there is a need to understand there are things to resist. The how is tricky, and it takes the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t about…
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Jesus and the Powers, Part 6
It’s been a week without writing mainly because I’ve been absorbing the political shooting from last week and then seeing how it might play out in the Republican National Convention. Along with that was preparation for this coming week’s book study group on Jesus and the Powers. It’s been a week of absorbing and reflecting.
Tag: Faith
