This Easter truth is as mind-boggling and subversive today as it has been in every age; because rather than looking forward to a day when the things that make us different from others disappear, the resurrection proclaims that we look forward to an eternity in which those differences remain, but no longer divide.
It is in God’s very nature to seek out relationship, and it is this divine seeking that provides the roots for evangelism and grounds all the directives that Jesus gives us.
Jesus told Zacchaeus to come down from the tree for dinner before Zacchaeus ever had the good idea to give half of what he had to the poor and give back any tax money he’d unfairly kept for himself. Jesus reached out to the Samaritan woman before she had all her questions answered, before she truly understood what the coming
Things are close at the beach. No matter how vast the ocean is, its waves come right up to lap at your toes. No matter how far the sand stretches, it still holds on to your footprints. No matter how loudly the wind roars in your ears, there’s a peace that surrounds you as you walk. No matter how hard
We’re so intent on keeping up appearances, so focused on making sure our outsides are presentable, that we miss out on the transformative power of the Spirit on our insides.
A hard truth for many of us to admit is that if we would wrestle more deeply with society’s objections to our faith, as well as with our own doubts, we might be better prepared to respond with both strength and grace in these types of contexts.
Every now and then it’s important to remind ourselves of our common commitments. This is the commitment of the global Wesleyan Methodist family when it comes to relating to the Islamic world…
Life can feel like that sometimes – like a giant puzzle with all the pieces in a chaotic jumble, where the task of sorting them is overwhelming, and there’s a nagging thought that you might not have all the pieces. I believe all of us face times like that; it’s the nature of being human.
When focused inward, we are enraptured. When focused outward, we are an embodiment of love. We begin to feel so much more, all the world’s suffering and searching, and it is all beautiful and somehow a part of us.
“The part you must jettison is not only the best-written part; it is also, oddly, that part which was to have been the very point. It is the original key passage, the passage on which the rest was to hang, and from which you drew the courage to begin.” Annie Dillard, The Writing Life As I complete edits on my
It is the time of year when resolutions abound. Or if not resolutions, goals. Maybe goals are too weighty a burden: maybe wishes. It is the time of year when wishes abound. Despite the popularity of making “New Year’s Resolutions” – and despite the popularity of articles detailing how to make resolutions “stick” – most people know that lasting life
We must become walking, talking clues pointing to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.
How do we understand and define what the church is constituted to be? To answer this question, one must first ask: what is the mission of the church? The Missio Dei The first thing to notice in this question is the assumption that the mission is of the church. Here lies significant misunderstanding and misplaced value: the mission is not
The numerous physical healings performed by Jesus to alleviate human suffering are only a hint of the anguish in the heart of God’s Son for wounded humanity.
In the Christmas stillness, there is hurry. In the Christmas stillness, there is distraction. In the Christmas stillness, there is worry. It is tempting to say, “In the Christmas hurry, there is stillness; in the Christmas distraction, there is stillness; in the Christmas worry, there is stillness.” We wish to take people from their likely experience – bustle, activity, news
God’s love is so great, it will conquer all the world’s horrors. God’s love is so prodigious, no evil can possibly prevail against it.
As you celebrated Jesus’ birth by exchanging gifts, did you remember that God’s presence with us is the greatest gift we will ever receive?
Jesus Christ, John says, is the true light who was coming to enlighten everyone in the world in the more direct and expansive way, like the sun.
“Jesus calls us at Christmas to enter into the Kingdom of Liberty, to be set free by his Father’s love.”
Advent is about an intensity of desire. It’s about deeply desiring the presence of God in our lives and our world.
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