Month: April 2015
Elizabeth Glass Turner ~ Ambassadors in a World of Islands
April 13, 2015
After all – a great deal of the New Testament was written by believers, to believers, about believers, in order to encourage believers.
Carrie Carter ~ Chosen
April 9, 2015
Then God spoke.
“Look at yourself. Living as if you don’t belong. Living in fear and insecurity. Withdrawing during hard times, isolating yourself instead of running into My arms. I have adopted you. I have chosen you. You are MINE….”
Kevin R. Murriel ~ The Power of a Resurrection Day “Selfie”
April 8, 2015
What makes us think we can make such an audacious request? The resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Believing in a miracle, a rationally unexplainable occurrence, takes exactly what Tillich describes–a faith that transcends our comprehension without excluding our consciousness. In other words, we should know what we are asking for but not expect the miracle to come in ways we can understand. This is the great mystery and power of our faith.
Tammie Grimm ~ A Pipeline of Grace: Pros and Cons
April 6, 2015
Tapping into the means of grace as a channel to have divine power and grace made available 24/7/365 is a comforting and empowering promise upon which Christianity rests. But it doesn’t quite tell the whole story or describe the importance of rhythm, the need for ebb and flow in our lives. Humanity is, after all, created for work for six days and rest on the seventh.
The spiritual life cannot be sustained at full tilt. Seasoned disciples know that growth and strength come from periods in the desert.
Mark Trotter ~ The Heart Has Eyes
April 4, 2015
The mystery that surrounds us belongs to different modes of perception. That is why he said, “The heart has reasons the mind knows not of.” It is the heart that is able to see into that mystery. And it is why Paul said to the Ephesians, “I pray that God will enlighten the eyes of your heart, so you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and the power for us who believe.” You will know that inheritance through faith, through the eyes of your heart.
Cole Bodkin ~ A Maundy Thursday Covenant
April 2, 2015
A covenant between parties is a two-way street. We aren’t mere recipients of Jesus’ salvific act. We aren’t coming to the table just to “remember,” and proclaim a big hearty “thank you.” We are called to obedience, to be faithful to the covenant in which we have been inaugurated. We are eating and drinking the atonement. We are being baptized into it. We are committing ourselves to the baptismal life, the-dying-and-rising-to-Christ life.
Kevin Watson ~ A More Meaningful Holy Week
April 1, 2015
He described the Christian calendar as being like a spiral staircase: you come to the same point in the circle each year, but you have ascended higher up the stairs each year than you were the year before, or at least that is the purpose of the Christian calendar.