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Loving the Person We See: Part 1
Could there be a more daunting declaration in the bible than 1 John 4:20? In Works of Love Soren Kierkegaard holds this verse up before our eyes until I feel like a puppy having its nose shoved into what it did on the floor. He dissects John’s statement from every possible angle while continually… Continue reading
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Christmas Guidance Part 3: “I’d Prefer Not To”
“to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:79 In a short book Herman Melville tells the story of, Bartleby, a mild, unassuming office clerk. Whenever he’s given a task to do, Bartleby replies, “I would prefer not… Continue reading
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Christmas Guidance Part 2: Guided people experience peace; Controlling people don’t
“to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:79 In our last post we saw that most of the characters in the Christmas story are guided by angels. One individual is a glaring exception. His determination to control… Continue reading
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Christmas Guidance Part 1: “A Pacifist Who Yells at Her Husband”
“to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:79 One of the many things I love about Christmas is that we get to think about angels. In the Christian world, at least, it seems angels are out of court… Continue reading
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The Good Thing About Being Infatuated
“The ecstatic power of love makes beings go out of themselves.” So says one of the old spiritual writers. Love draws us out from self-preoccupation to give our full attention to someone else. We see that even in the shallow love of infatuation. The teenage boy focuses completely on the girl with whom he’s infatuated;… Continue reading
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Good Friday: Blood and Glory
Today, Good Friday, our thoughts turn to the cross and the utter ugliness contained in this horrific image. How can we possibly meditate upon it at any length? I mean a whole-hearted meditation? It’s too demonic to behold for for very long. Could we look at a “Gerber baby” nailed there, the iron ripping its… Continue reading
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Black Riders and the Battle in Our Minds
We live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Cor.… Continue reading
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Why Peace Means War
Why, we may ask, do leading peace advocates such as Martin Luther King, Ghandi and Jesus get murdered? Why, from the earliest days of Christianity, has the same fate befallen countless others who were simply committed to peace and doing good to everyone? The simple answer is that in a world such as ours, peace… Continue reading
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Why Have Even Christians Had Faith in Violence?
As we close out 2021 let us reflect on the contrast of the angels’ Christmas greeting, “peace on earth, good will to all,” with how the year began i.e. even professing Christians violently storming the capitol building of the United States. In my last post we saw that Jesus perfectly reveals God’s nature. He did… Continue reading