At the end of this week followers of Jesus will bring to completion their Lenten observance. They will have named and denied their self-life, shouldered the weight of costly self-sacrifice with Jesus, and come to the Garden and the Cross. They will remember Jesus’ loud cries and tears at the cup handed him, and then …
Category Archives: Main Blog
God is STILL on the Throne! ?
It is common for people of faith to respond to tragedy and threat by affirming: “God is still on the Throne!” I take this to mean that whatever has happened or is happening has not defeated God, nor surprised God, and has not called into question God’s ability or willingness to help. What has happened …
Fight Pandemic with Pandemic
As we all know, the word “pandemic” has become synonymous with terms like “plague, scourge, and disease” and therefore conjures up a sense of dire threat. But “pandemic” is actually an adjective that qualifies something else as “widespread, prevalent, pervasive, universal, global.” “Pan” means “all,” and “Demos,” means “people.” When something is pandemic it extends …
WHY I NEED LENT
We are in the season of Lent, made sacred by Jesus’ urgent invitation: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). I confess my need of Lent—that time of the year when the mind’s eye and the heart’s ear give acute …
Jesus’ Kingdom Begins with Lent!?
What kind of a kingdom begins with Lent? Well, a good and godly one. In fact, the gospel story begins with Jesus announcing the presence of God’s kingdom, and then proposing our proper response in “Lenten terms.” “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The kingdom of God is near! Repent …