"God's grace" Tagged Touchpoints

"God's grace" Tagged Touchpoints

Touchpoint: Jesus rejected; watercolor image of Jesus being rejected and nearly pushed over a cliff in his hometown of Nazareth

Jesus Cliff Notes

“This is the story we have to tell. The story of a God who is bigger than we can imagine. The story of One who embraces more than we can embrace. One who is beyond our limits.”

Sami and the Scribe

Grace and peace to you from the Mystery in whom we live, move, and have our being. The first commandment. The First Commandment Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater…
A silhouette of a person standing with arms outstretched, holding broken chains, against a dramatic sky with a glowing light behind them, symbolizing liberation and freedom.

Name, Image, and Likeness

May the light of the Liberator guide your path, grounding you in truth and love. Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly…
Touchpoint: I Am the Vine. Photo of a vineyard in flames from the movie, A Walk in the Clouds

God’s Love Burns

“Branches are connected to the vine and they abide together. Fecundity is the intimacy of abiding with the vine and each other. The vine is rooted in love below the earth, in what is called the rootstalk. It is the source of all growth and renewal. Branches cannot renew themselves separately from the vine and rootstalk. No wonder Jesus says, ‘Apart from God, we can do nothing.'”
Touchpoint: Baptism; close-up photo of sparkling blue water clo

Immersed in Life

“As I stared out and watched this living metaphor, I thought about how in my suffering, Spirit was no longer separate or dormant in my life. It did not reside in my practices, and it need not be conjured up emotionally. It is ever present and stirred by my conscious awareness of its silent, life-giving power. It fascinates me that we are more comfortable talking about the force in Star Wars than the third person of the Trinity in all its power.”
Touchpoint: John the Baptizer. Watercolor image of John the Baptist preaching to a crowd

Let’s Get Tattoos!

“At baptism it is not about our declaration of acceptance of God, it’s about our full acknowledgment of God’s reception of us! This mystery invites us into God’s heart. This mystery is the heartbeat in all people, whether aware of it or not. Though we may sin, doubt, judge, curse, deny, betray, we cannot remove the tattoo placed on our hearts as a reminder that we belong.”
Touchpoint: Where brokenness meets brokenness; image of Dikembe Mutombo wagging his finger, "No, no, no!"

Rejected

“Over the past three and a half years, there have been many times when I wondered if the Board was right in the first place by overlooking me as a serious candidate. I have questioned my ability to lead this ministry. Maybe a big piece of the stone that left me broken and crushed ended up as a chip on my shoulder… left me needing to prove I belonged here, in this position, leading this ministry, without the credentials that were so important to those in charge.”
Touchpoint: Workers in the Vineyard; image of clusters of ripe grapes in a beautiful vineyard

The Economy of God

“There is no one for the last one in line to give to. That person’s job, in that moment and time, is to be a recipient. Being a recipient renders us powerless, but it is the greatest source of freedom and intimacy because its freedom comes from gratitude, vulnerability and a willingness to receive without apology, and with no justification. That would be the refashioning of “I worked all day so I deserve to be the recipient.””
Touchpoint: Seventy Times Seven; image of two people clasping hands

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

“To forgive one’s self opens us to the possibility of forgiving another. But to forgive another is not to dispense mercy or justice, for only God has that authority. But it is God who is opening us up to grace and mercy, when we are completely unable. We are merely opening ourselves up to what God can do when we can’t.”
Touchpoint: Nothing can separate us from the love of God; image of two hands not quite touching, one is meant to be Jesus' hand

No Separation

“Look… let’s be real clear. The reason that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus isn’t because of our commitment to God, or our desire to go and be wherever God is. Not in any way shape or form. And no reading of the Bible could give you that idea. No, the reason nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus is because of God’s commitment to us. And not even our hanging him on a cross can stop it.”
God Is Love Touchpoint; image of a person floating in the ocean, symbolizing 'letting go'

God Loves Me

“To let go is to gradually embrace love without caveat, without condition. It doesn’t mean tolerating. It doesn’t mean hanging out with someone with the agenda of changing them. It’s letting this love which holds the stars in the firmament and keeps the blood flowing in our body and our minds full of clarity and free.”
The Parable of the Sower Touchpoint; woodcut image of native person sowing seeds

A So-So Sower

“This parable is about a sower who sows his Word of grace and forgiveness over all the terrain of my life. The hard-hearted times. The shallow and self-centered times. The easily excitable and flaming out times. And yes, even the good times.”