He sat in his car for over ten minutes struggling to enter. His story is familiar although he might have felt as though he was unique.
The scenario plays out in that surreal colorless shadowlands where shame, fragility, hopelessness, fear, guilt, feelings of failure and confusion reign. And yet, from within a car or from the motionless stance on a sidewalk the possibility that hope dwells within urges taking the first step. Continue reading “Hope inside”
If the Gospel of Luke is a handbook on discipleship, then Christian behavior should tear down human barriers. After all, Jesus blazed this trail as through word and deed he revolutionized social norms by dismantling its boundaries. When people are willing to walk in his steps, his principles continue to transform social perception, values and behavior. Here are two examples how his kingdom principles alter daily living. Continue reading “Breaking down barriers”
Sometimes people and God can see the same situation very differently. Remember the perspective of the twelve tribes upon hearing the spies report about walled fortified cities and tall people? They saw an impossible task. God’s viewpoint was entirely different.
Remember what happened when God sent Samuel to anoint a son of Jesse as king of Israel? “When they arrived, Samuel noticed Eliab and said to himself, ‘Surely, here before the LORD stands his chosen king!’ But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Don’t be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. People look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” I Samuel 16:6-7
Sometimes people and God can see the same situation very differently. But, there is one topic where no one can afford to see things differently than the Lord. Continue reading “The Lord’s perspective”
Will the one body of Christ be always mystically united despite apparent division on earth or are God’s people responsible for employing tools to maintain the body’s unity? This question brings to the forefront our understanding of the nature of Christian unity. On the one hand, to have witnessed acrimonious attitudes can create a desire to breathe the fresh air of acceptance and freedom, such as provided by viewing Christ’s people as possessing an incarnational unity given by grace whereby believers are understood to be united regardless of various forms of seeming division. But if unity is a divine gift … Continue reading Biblical Unity for Dummies (3): Mystical Unity Imposed by Grace or Tools of Maintenance Required?
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