bible
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the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 5)
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Oh, forgiveness. One of the most difficult asks for humankind. You know. Who is it impossible to forgive? “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Are we forgiven only as we forgive? Do we forgive because we’re forgiven, or are Continue reading
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the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 4)
Give us this day our daily bread. Yet they starve by the millions, your children, without bread or water. Children die sick in slums or in the streets. Thousands perish every single day from preventable causes. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth Continue reading
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the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 3)
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Where is your kingdom? It is not in earth as it is in heaven. For what of the Ugandan boy who sat next to me in tears because someone he loved was dying or dead of AIDS. What of the young Continue reading
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the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 2)
Hallowed be thy name. The sacred name that’s been used by the apparent faithful throughout history to justify the persecution and killing of those who are different from and other than; the faithful who hold the supposed truth and dispense it by the sword (literally or figuratively). Look no further than our own scriptures. God-ordained Continue reading
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the Lord’s prayer, revisited (part 1)
“Lord, teach us to pray.” Our Father which art in heaven, But only there, Lord? Far away up in the sky, above the clouds, beyond the universe, detached and out of reach? To say you’re in heaven makes it sound as if you’re distant, unavailable, like many of our own earthly fathers. Or like some Continue reading
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what comes after?
It’s easy to believe in God, in heaven; even in hell, if you’re speaking of hell on earth. All of us have experienced both heaven and hell in this life. We’ve seen evidence of their reality here and now. But are they actual places and states of existence in the next life, the afterlife? I Continue reading
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the bible
Is it our salvation, a love letter, a rulebook, a guide, an instruction manual, a weapon, or just stories made up long ago? Is it true, inspired, outdated, or myth? Is it directly from or dictated by God, or only some of it, or none of it. Does it point to God, or do only Continue reading
asking, authenticity, bible, change, Christianity, church, compassion, deconstruction, empathy, evangelicalism, experience, Faith, God, Grace, growth, honesty, hope, Jesus, knowledge, learning, listening, love, openness, personal, prayer, reflections, religion, scripture, Searching, seeking, spirit, spirituality, story, Trust, truth, understanding -
a meditation for the weary
It was from Matthew 11. “I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.” This struck me. “You don’t have to go back to what is heavy and ill-fitting.” Why do so many of us assume God’s way or will is always something heavy and hard, even ill-fitting, that God wants to make martyrs of Continue reading
bible, Christianity, church, deconstruction, evangelicalism, Faith, God, hope, Jesus, love, Matthew 11, prayer, reflections, religion, rest, spirituality, Trust, weary, worship -
grace (3)
One evening this winter I sat in the hot tub and watched the darkening evergreens and the winter evening’s cotton candy sky above the dimming landscape. I looked up at the clouds and picked out their morphing shapes. I kept watching that sky of subtle reds and pinks and purples, quiet oranges and yellows, above Continue reading
bible, Christianity, church, Faith, God, Grace, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, love, mercy, prayer, reflections, religion, spirituality, Trust, worship -
which God is it? (part 2)
The denial of contradictions (within our experience, the Bible, spiritual community, etc) can produce hesitant, fearful, uncertain, even spiritually neurotic Christians. We hear opposing stories of the same God and are expected to embrace them without doubt or trepidation. “Just believe” is the catch all phrase, the simple answer to complicated questions. The story of Continue reading
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a kingdom built of seeds 