Tag: spiritual formation

Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places

Posted on by Michael Rose
Once upon a time, a Sufi mystic was searching for something on the street outside her small hut. The sun was setting, and darkness was descending, as few people gathered around her. “What have you lost? What are you searching for?  Perhaps we can help,” they said. “I have lost my needle.” The mystic replied. One of the people said, “Well, the sun…
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Discovering Thin Places

Posted on by Michael Rose
“Thin places” is a 5th-century Celtic Christian term used to describe geographical places where it seems that space between Heaven and Earth are uniquely thin.  The Thin places could be in a building, a cave, on a mountain top or by the sea shore.  It is the place where we become acutely aware of the…
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Jesus’ Gospel is Confrontational

Posted on by Michael Rose
I have been thinking about some conventional wisdom – that one should stay away from talking about the contentious issues because they are a “no win”. That choosing sides will only get you embroiled in debates. It was suggested that staying clear of these debates will free one to talk about Jesus and his Kingdom. My…
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Freedom: Making Freer Choices

Posted on by Michael Rose
“If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” – Jesus Who the Son sets free is free indeed!  I so love this scripture from John 8.  Christian freedom has been long explored,…
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Excavating Your True Self

Posted on by Michael Rose
There’s a lot of mystery and often a lot of confusion when we start to speak about one’s “True Self.” Depending upon your religious background, this can be relatively normal, completely bizarre and for some quite dubious. However, in the sense of healthy Christian faith, the pursuit of the authentic self is simply discovering and…
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We ARE Chosen

Posted on by Michael Rose
How many of us remember the ad-hoc choosing of teams in the school yard? “I’ll take Jimmy.”  “I’ll take Jane” and so forth until there is a lone person left and chosen by default.  There were times when I was growing up that I found myself the last to be chosen.  It is an awkward feeling to not…
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