The Voice of One

Self-Denial and Cross-Bearing (Part 1)

Sketch by Patrick Murphy: http://inspiredsketch.blogspot.com/ This series is excerpted from a piece written by an author at Christaslife.com. The author wished to remain anonymous. *** Jesus was the most self-giving person who walked this earth. His mission was to sacrifice Himself so that we might have new life. It is surprising to me then, that He would…

This Is What Is Written (Part 2)

Picture taken at Glendive Dinosaur & Fossil Museum Please read Part 1 before continuing…. We have been saying that the full meaning of scripture is found in Christ. Yet this doesn’t abolish historical or literal meanings. For example: Isaiah saw the Lord “seated on a throne,” and prophesied that the Israelites would be “ever hearing,…

This Is What Is Written (Part 1)

Interpreting the scriptures is central to Christian belief. After all, the way someone interprets the Bible determines how they understand and live out their faith. These days, many methods of biblical interpretation have been advanced. Some favor a literal interpretation, some a wholly symbolic one. Others believe that no book of the Bible can be…

Synergy

http://www.123rf.com/photo_13502276_green-atom-electron-llustration-on-black-background.html Judges 19 tells the story of a woman who dies after being gang-raped. Her grief-stricken husband cuts up her body and sends a piece to Israel’s 12 tribes (Judges 19:29). Outraged, the tribes assemble “as one body” to deal with the crime (Judges 20:1, HCSB). The woman’s dismemberment evokes the Last Supper and the…

And I Quote! (Part 2)

http://www.123rf.com/photo_21098327_cartoon-boy–speech-bubble–vector-illustrations.html See Part 1 here “The disciples did not simply come to understand Christ in the light of the Passion. Rather, only when turned again (or were turned by the risen Christ) to the scriptures (meaning what we now call the ‘Old Testament’) did they begin to see there all sorts of references to Christ,…

And I Quote!

“The crucified and yet living Christ is the concrete summing up of the Christian message and the Christian faith. He is Himself the wholly concrete truth of Christianity.”—Hans Kung, On Being a Christian, chapter VI. “The scriptures declare Christ. And anything else you find in there is a product of your religious imaginations.”—JW Luman, Covenant Ministries Int’l. “Go to…

Jack-o’-lanterns for Jesus

Hallowe’en is a contraction derived from “All hallows even,” and marks the beginning of All Saints Day on November 1st. All Saints is a time of commemorating those who have died in the faith. Martin Luther chose to post his 95 theses on Hallowe’en, possibly evoking the “great cloud of witnesses” that preceded him in…

Head in the Clouds, Feet on the Ground

Image from http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/head-in-the-clouds-feet-on-the-ground/422221.article But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ (Eph. 4:15). There is a tension in the Christian’s walk that Jesus described this way: “An hour is coming, and is now here….” Jesus said this specifically about resurrection and worshiping God in spirit and…

St. Francis Wasn’t a Sissie

Francis of Assisi Francis of Assisi is known for giving it all. His father, a wealthy merchant, demanded Francis relax his zeal for Christ or renounce all claims to his inheritance. Francis answered by removing his clothes and returning them to his astonished father. This attitude marked the rest of Francis’s life. I have always…

What Poppins Preached to Her Parrot

Mary Poppins, Disney 1964 Something I wrote in my journal in November 2010: At the end of Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins watches from the front step of the Banks family home as they walk down the street to fly kites together. During her time with them, Mary has wrought an amazing transformation in the family, and especially…

The Voice of One

Later, Gator

Linus Christianity

To Live Is Christ

Preposterous

Memoir