Touchpoints on The Christian Life (Page 2)
Grace Space
“I want you to think about that. God’s first word – first observation about you – is goodness. God’s first word to creation, to you, is a word of grace. Grace is not something added after the fact. Grace is not something given after you mess up. Grace is not a patch on the pants of failure.”
We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Tent
“So we – you, me and the Church – participate in the forgiveness of sin by bearing witness to the forgiveness that God pronounced from the Cross. Or we retain the sin, to our detriment, by not bearing witness to God’s grace. But forgiveness is not a possession of ours. It is not under our control. And so, the idea that forgiveness of sin is only available inside the Church is like believing the Spirit can only exist inside our tent, or only in our language and cultural concepts.”
Look Out!
“We can’t sit on our fannies and expect people to come to us (salt lick). We must meet others where they are at. Flavor their lives where they are at. We must connect to others in their language and concepts.”
This Is the Way
“So a sunrise, a sunset, gardening, a nature hike, having a baby snuggle in that nook between your shoulder and neck. Why, even a little bread and wine with others… All these are the Christ because they bring us in contact with the Creator/Father, and whatever brings you in contact with the Creator is the Christ. As Jesus said, ‘No one comes to the Father but by me.'”
God is Unsettling
Grace and peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. Blessed to be a blessing. Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house … and I will bless you … so that you will be a blessing.’” Genesis 12:1-4a This is one of those bible passages that summarizes the life of faith for me as well or better than any others. And there are two…
Jesus ‘Buts’ In
Grace and peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. Being and belonging. From the Revised Standard Version: You have heard it said … but I say to you” … and again “You have heard it said … but I say to you” … and again “You have heard it said … but I say to you ….” Matthew 5:21-37 Jesus … is a … “but-in-ski.” Following the law The passage this week is…
God-Flavors and God-Colors
“Their poverty of spirit, their pain and hungering, their meekness are no longer the condition of a hopeless humanity, but the soil from which God’s life-giving action will grow. Their stains are the window through which God’s light will shine.”
The Miracle of Impermanence
Grace and Peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. The greatness of God. When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’” Luke 21:5-19 The people around Jesus are caught up in the beauty of their…
The Faithfulness of God
“Jesus constantly tries to free us from ourselves, from our desire to be the subject and verb of the faith sentences of our lives. And that’s a different kind of freedom, because usually we think of freedom as being freed from others – from outside events, things and people – but what about freedom from ourselves? Can we as Americans even imagine such a thing?”
Justified By God, Our Default Setting
Grace and Peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Luke 18:9-14 With all due respect to Jean-Paul Sartre, this parable could be called “No Exit.” I feel like I am trapped inside of it, and every attempt I make to dissect and diagnose it leaves me in worse shape than when I started. Don’t be like the Pharisee… I mean, the easy thing is to say,…
Limping Along
“You know, if I ever started another church, maybe I would name it the “World Wrestling Federation Lutheran Church.” And my benediction every Sunday would be, “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!””
Living a Life of “Thank You”
“To live a life of thanksgiving means I have to acknowledge a ‘giver’ … a ‘gifter.’ It means acknowledging that I am not the beginning and end of existence. To live a life of thanksgiving means to acknowledge that the idea that I have possessions is an illusion. To be thankful for everything means that everything is a gift.”