God fulfills his promises. We know this. But we often struggle to see how. Because the promises God makes and the promises we would like aren’t always the same. His wisdom is not ours.
“God’s strength becomes available to us when we are rooted and established in his love. In what other things are you tempted to root yourself? What in your life makes you feel secure and established?”
“This is the second difficulty of praying ‘Thy will be done’ – that God’s will for one moment will become our idol in the next.”
Some years ago, I learned that a name is a powerful thing. For example, while working to complete my undergraduate degree in education, on various occasions my professor would observe us as we taught lessons in classrooms at nearby schools as we prepared for the time when we would have our own classrooms. On one particular occasion, I was teaching
Where will you go this week that you will be grateful to have God’s presence with you? What difference will it make to have God with you in that place or situation? When you are discouraged or terrified, how easy is it to make the choice to be strong and courageous?
There is safety in being God-conscious at all times. Before decisions are made, seek the mind of God.
And the soldiers—the protectors of civil order— decide to bury the truth. They take their bribe and the promise of protection from Pilate’s wrath, and they toe the party line. They protect the power of a broken world.But the women—the ones with little influence, the ones who are least likely to be believed—they run from the empty tomb with great
And in our gospel passage, Mary of course – like all of us on this side of death – is not yet fully awake. She makes first contact with the resurrected Jesus, and it’s about as awkward as Peter embarrassing himself by trying to pitch a tent on Mount Tabor. Mary’s problem is that she thinks Jesus is dead, and
In my leadership role with World Methodist Evangelism, I frequently preach and teach in international environments, depending heavily on the skills of translators and interpreters. These are gifted people! I recall teaching on evangelism in Vladivostok, Russia a few years ago. I was trying to make an important point, which in English is not difficult to understand. It’s the idea
At times it seems that people who come from Wesleyan Methodist backgrounds have an “arm’s length” relationship with the idea of providence. At its most basic level, providence is the activity of God working out God’s redemptive plans for his creation. It’s God working out a rescue plan for creation, and the idea that God is working behind the scenes
The Great Barrier Reef A few months ago, an online news article quickly went viral with its title Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC – 2016). Though not yet factual, it definitely caused consternation and raised awareness of the endangered state of the Great Barrier Reef. This immediately reminded me of renowned consultant Alan Roxburgh’s book Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood. In the opening chapter, he recounts of a majestic experience
A ministry that sees the arts as intrinsic, rather than instrumental, will already be two steps ahead in fruitfully integrating the arts in ministry.
As we seek to follow in the Jesus way, we need to recognize that more often than not, rather than being rooted in common sense, the Jesus way defies common sense.
You see, we must realize that organizations, and in this case the body of Christ, can only reflect the sum of the people who are part of them.
The disciples were transformed into messengers by the presence of Jesus in real time, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
If your church is sending youth to summer camp this year, how can you continue foster the lessons of their pilgrimage?
When Wesley spoke of the possibility of perfection in love, he didn’t mean that we are capable of this on our own power or merit, but rather he meant to challenge anyone daring to say that God can’t do it in us.
It’s dangerous to live your life with a past focus, with a two-dimensional Jesus, because you may end up following a tradition instead of following Jesus, God’s living Word.
Recently Wesleyan Accent Editor Elizabeth Glass Turner chatted with Rev. Zach Szmara, the founder of one of the first immigration legal clinics within a church building, about sanctuary, immigration law, and cross-cultural ministry at home. Rev. Szmara is the Lead Pastor of The Bridge in Logansport, Indiana, a congregation within The Wesleyan Church. He is the National Director of Immigrant Connection – a growing
Jesus wasn’t about hanging out on the “healthy” side of the river, the side of the “haves.”
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