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Healthy Community is where we learn to be Community

Healthy Community is where we learn to be Community
The old joke says ‘Church would be awesome if it weren’t for the people’ and amidst a hearty chuckle, we sense a twinge of truth. Community is made of up human beings just like you and me - doing the best we can with what we have.  They are places where imperfect people, those of…
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Seeing through Jesus

Seeing through Jesus
Hey Mike,  We know, according to scripture, God chose the Israelites as his people. Joined together under a covenant. There were several other tribes or nations on the earth and they must have had their own creation stories and modes of worship so was God not with them? It wouldn’t be Yahweh, but it would…
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The Hangover – Easter Saturday

The Hangover – Easter Saturday
Oh man... what did I do yesterday?  It seems like a terrible nightmare.  I am awake now - covered in sweat, trembling and a headache like I had drunk a gallon of wine last night.  I was caught up in something terrible. Something demonic - a mob.  How did this all go so sideways, and…
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Fear Not but if you do that’s okay

Fear Not but if you do that’s okay
“Fear not” or something similar is said to be found approximately 365 times in the bible.  It seems to be a significant thread throughout the scriptures and yet, beyond face value what is to be made of these two words? if we come from a legalistic tradition, we might understand these exhortations as commands.  Edicts…
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The Both-And approach to Fear

The Both-And approach to Fear
It was a simple statement on my feed this morning.  They stated, “Faith and worry cannot co-exist.” With a sigh, I asked, “So then why is it that fear and faith co-exist all the time?" We have to do better than mere platitudes. Surely Christian spirituality is more robust in the crucible of real life.…
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One Saturday Morning

One Saturday Morning
“Teacher, surely we are to be like the chunks of ice floating effortlessly with the current of the river.” The teacher smiled and said “ Indeed, and yet against the current the fish swims, the geese paddle and the river plant holds fast. Such is a life lived whole.” [a story from prayer and a…
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What we think they see

What we think they see
A strange adventure at Costco last Wednesday. As I was pushing my cart, doing my shopping and people watching I saw a lady walk towards me with what looked like a nasty bruise right in the middle of her forehead. I thought to myself ‘I wonder what she walked into?’ A few minutes later I saw…
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From your Head to your Heart

From your Head to your Heart
“You must descend from your head into your heart. At present, your thoughts of God are in your head.  And God himself is, as it were, outside you, and so your prayer and other spiritual exercises remain exterior. Whilst you are still in your head, thoughts will not easily be subdued but will always be whirling about, like snow in winter or clouds…
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The Crazy Father

The Crazy Father
A father had two sons, and one of his sons came to him and said, “Dad, I have been thinking it’s time for me to leave and find myself. I need to figure out who I am and make my own fortune, my own way in the world. So, what I would like is for…
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The Cross, Victory and the Non-Violent God

The Cross, Victory and the Non-Violent God
[ This article was originally written in 2011 - thought I'd blow the dust off it and share it again.  fresh thoughts are in [*]. Worldview runs silently in the background of our consciousness, filtering and shaping the way we interpret the world around us.  It is from these interpretations that our worldview shapes our…
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