Tag: grace

Speaking the Truth in Love

Posted on by Michael Rose
There is a comedian who has a bit where he describes some of the idiosyncrasies of living in the Southern United States. He laughs as he describes how people would say things like “That baby sure is ugly! Bless his little heart” or “Betsy sure looks fat in that dress. Bless her heart!”  He jokes…
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Jesus. A Parable of God

Posted on by Michael Rose
They say a  picture is worth a thousand words.  A story can hold so much more than dry propositions or facts and one of the reasons Jesus was such an effective communicator was because He employed stories.  In these stories, Jesus could communicate big ideas in a way that they could be more accessible.  These stories have come to…
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It Cuts Both Ways

Posted on by Michael Rose
“So, how did you find yourself living in Arizona?” I asked the twenty-something year old during a recent visit to the United States.   She took a deep breath and told me that she and her family are Muslim and lived in Bosnia during the war which saw the country torn apart by terrible conflict…
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Judge Less. More Filling.

Posted on by Michael Rose
“Judge not lest you be judged” are haunting words for me.  I am coming to realize that a constant problem of the human creation is the propensity to judge others.   I think there are a variety of reasons for this but for our purposes here, suffice to say it is the natural consequence of…
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How Meaning Inspires Overcoming

Posted on by Michael Rose
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Dr. Viktor Frankl Viktor Frankl, the founder of Logo-therapy (aka Meaning Therapy) was interned in a Nazi concentration camp as a laborer.    The living…
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A Terrible Case of the What if

Posted on by Michael Rose
Last night, while I lay thinking here, some What ifs crawled inside my ear and pranced and partied all night long and sang their same old What-if song: What if I’m dumb in school? What if they’ve closed the swimming pool? What if I get beat up? What if there’s poison in my cup? What if I start to cry? What if…
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Free Indeed

Posted on by Michael Rose
In this audio reflection, Michael leads us through some thoughts on John 8:33-46.  Jesus is speaking about freedom and the fact that His words are truth and bring freedom.  Jesus contrasts this with sin and lies which bring slavery.  Often times we believe lies about ourselves or a situation, and these lies (that may have…
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45 Things to Live Well (16-20)

Posted on by Michael Rose
We continue with the 45 things we can do to live well, and this installment is good ol’ fashioned horse sense.  Ever wonder how cliches came to be?  I think cliches are great “suitcase” sayings that are a simple way of expressing a bit of wisdom that has been found to be helpful over time….
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