Category: Uncategorized
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When a Good Thing Becomes Ultimate
Scripture:“You shall have no other gods before Me.”— Exodus 20:3 Reflection:Love of country is not automatically idolatry. Gratitude for the place where you live, concern for your community, prayer for leaders, and a desire for the common good are all appropriate things. In fact, they can be part of faithful Christian living. But a good…
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Form Without Power
Scripture:“Having a form of godliness but denying its power.”— 2 Timothy 3:5 Reflection:One of the most haunting phrases in Scripture is this one from 2 Timothy: a form of godliness without its power. It is possible to keep a recognizable shape of faith — the language, the values, the concern, the appearance of seriousness —…
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The Mission Cannot Be Separated from the Messiah
Scripture:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me…”— Luke 4:18 Reflection:Jesus really does care about the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed. That must be said clearly. The concern for justice and mercy is not a distraction from his mission. It is part of it. In Luke 4,…
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When Deconstruction Is Necessary, but Not Enough
Scripture:“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”— Matthew 11:28 Reflection:Some people do not drift into Jesusless Christianity because they are casual. They drift there because they are wounded. They have seen too many Christians who talked a lot about Jesus while not resembling Jesus at…
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When the Center Goes Missing
Scripture:“He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”— Colossians 1:17 Reflection:A faith can keep many beautiful values for a while even after the center has gone missing. That is part of what makes Jesusless Christianity so persuasive. It still says yes to compassion, justice, mercy, healing, dignity, welcome, and social concern. Those…
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Language w/o the Lord
Scripture:“You search the Scriptures… and these are they which testify of Me.”— John 5:39 Reflection:One of the most unsettling truths in the gospel is that you can have the language of faith and still miss the Lord of faith. You can have Bible, religion, seriousness, morality, tradition, and spiritual vocabulary, and still fail to come…
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Podcast Episode: Consumer Christianity
Pip: If you’ve ever wondered whether your faith is a subscription service you can cancel when the benefits dry up, Eric McCrea has been writing directly at that question all week on Weekday Word. Mara: The posts this week press into what it actually means to follow Jesus rather than consume him — covering church…
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Not a Fan…
Scripture:“But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”— John 5:40 Reflection:There is a real difference between admiration and relationship. You can admire a preacher, a teacher, an author, or a leader from a distance. You can read their books, quote their words, imitate their style, and still not know…
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Fear Closes the Table
Scripture:“Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”— Matthew 12:50 Reflection:Jesus says something in Matthew 12 that sounds startling at first. His mother and brothers are outside, and when he is told they are looking for him, he answers by pointing to his disciples and saying that…
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Family is a Gift, Not a God
Scripture: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me…”— Matthew 10:37 Reflection:Family is one of God’s great gifts. Most of us know that in some way. We know the blessing of being loved, named, fed, protected, shaped, welcomed at the table. Even when our family stories are complicated, there…
