‘We support freedom and religion as long as they take their place behind our right to make a dollar.’ I bet Paul and Silas heard sentiments like that when they cast out a money making demon that gave a slave girl the ability to tell fortunes.
When you read about Jesus’ miracles it’s easy to get dazzled! But, read the accounts slowly and you’ll learn there’s a formula for most of Jesus’ miracles, a formula we can adopt.
The Christian hope is deeply, concisely and profoundly exemplified in the movement from Jesus’ death to his resurrection. There, we see that God uses turmoil for God’s creative purposes.
Suspense is part of faith in God. The suspense for us isn’t “if” there’s God but “how” will God choose to be God.
When the risen Lord returned to his friends, he didn’t focus on his wounds. He showed them his wounds but they didn’t define him.
This week we celebrate 250 episodes of our Podcast, For People! From its inception until now our purpose has been singular, to talk about God, God’s goodness and how we might respond to this good God made known to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
As superior as God is to us, for love’s sake God took on our flesh to know life as we do. That boggles the mind and is praiseworthy. But, God goes further in Jesus.
Some of us can’t live out the authority we’ve been given by baptism because we feel deeply unworthy. I get it, but God doesn’t authorize the worthy God makes worthy those whom God authorizes.
To grow up in Christ is to be able to face loss. We learn this at a dinner party. Jesus is there. Lazarus is there. He was dead, now he’s alive and eating dinner.
Empathy is the capacity to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling; what they want, what they believe and what they fear. And even why they make the mistakes they make. Empathy is also how we recycle our own heart-hurts turning them into opportunities for connection with others
