Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I will abide in you” (John 15:4). At least, that’s how I memorized this verse. I figured that if this was how a modern and erudite translation like the New Revised Standard Version rendered Jesus’ words, I couldn’t be too far off the mark. But now I’m beginning to wonder.
Maybe you heard or read this story in last week’s news. For me it’s an earthly glimpse into Trinitarian love and what it means to live out of our true glory:
With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had [...]
We’re all damaged goods. As the apostle Paul puts it, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Instinctively, we know we’re made to be glorious creatures. Instinctively, we also know that we fall short of that glory.
Religion is our attempt to re-attain that glory. Religion is our attempt. [...]
In his book, The Reason for God, Tim Keller tells the following story:
Andrew Delbanco is a humanities professor at Columbia University. Some years ago he was doing research on Alcoholics Anonymous and was attending AA meetings around the country. One Saturday morning in a New York City church basement he was listening to a “crisply [...]
“LOVED X 3″ was the theme of the retreat, and looking back on it, I see that we were. It felt messy to me as I was going through it: so many of us, and all so different; so many hopes and so many wounds. But of course! That’s the point, isn’t it. (Papa laughs and [...]
Last night, after sharing a meal with our Alpha participants, I attended the second of four dialogue sessions on homosexuality. A couple of years ago the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America mandated that dialogue sessions around this issue occur throughout the denomination before the matter is allowed to be discussed again in 2009. [...]
After worship yesterday someone asked if I would send her the prayer of confession that we had on the screen. I thought I would include it here.
I’m seeing that it’s God’s grace as much as his distaste that causes him to oppose our pride. He sees how destructive and life-depleting pride is. And now that we’ve [...]
One of the things we look for in a friend is someone who will accept us as we are and love us no matter what. Is Jesus that kind of friend? Does he really love us or is he just putting up with us? Does he seem distant a lot of the time because he’s [...]
“Rejoice always; pray continuously; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). Note the bookends holding up continuous prayer: rejoicing and giving thanks. Frankly, rejoicing isn’t the first thing I think to do in most circumstances; or giving thanks, for that matter. “Rejoicing always” seems [...]
It’s good to be back. Sharon and I arrived home about 2:00am yesterday morning. We had beautiful weather in California, but never quite adjusted to the 3 hour time difference (evening sessions were a real bear). Fortunately the difficulties we had there are making it easier to transition into our rhythm here in Schenectady. Of course, [...]
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