I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said…
Tag: Christianity
The Biggest Small Word
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ….” (1 Peter 1:1) “Of” is a mighty word in scripture. It can show source–something that originates in something else and shares its nature, substance, reality. Ownership is another connotation. “Of” also suggests “from”; coming in another’s stead and on their authority. Such big ideas in such a little word!…
I Own You!
Being owned has negative connotations: Think slavery. Or how often do TV characters intimidate someone by shouting, “I OWN YOU!” People playing sports may shout this as well when they want to rile their opponents. In our minds, being owned is humiliating; it completely devalues a person. All of this flitted through my mind recently as…
One Is All
I am one with God in Christ, and this is all that is required of me.
Sea Change
The Lord has been speaking to me about resting. Just before Thanksgiving, I noticed my motivation for writing, working on music, and for other pursuits evaporated. Since my energies were diverted to holiday plans and family I didn’t think much of it. But as it became February, March, and then April, I began to wonder…
Daybreak–GK Chesterton
On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realised the new wonder; but even they hardly realised that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a…
Celebrating One Solitary Life–Dennis Patrick
Painting by Salvador Dali The following is a piece by my father-in-law, Dennis Patrick. Dennis writes a weekly column called “The Passing Scene,” which appears in the Mountrail County Promoter. “Celebrating One Solitary Life” appeared in the March 27 edition of The Promoter. *** Eastertide is as good a time as any to reflect on the many positive…
The Prayer of St. Francis
St. Francis is a hero of mine. Below is a prayer attributed to him. Whether or not he wrote it, the prayer perfectly describes the way we are meant to function by the life of Love Himself. *** Make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred let me bring your love. Where there…
To Judge or Not to Judge (Part 2)
Previously, we explored the subject of judging and the confusion it can cause. We discovered that judging in itself isn’t wrong but that it does matter who the source of a judgment is. If God is the source, we are called to express that judgment. If self is the source, our judgment is wrong. The…
To Judge or Not to Judge. That Is the Question…
For many Christians, judging is a confusing subject. “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged” is an ever-ready verse in discussions about judging (Matt. 7:1). Yet being a Christian automatically involves a person in judgments. Christianity claims Christ is the only way to God and calls a number of socially acceptable behaviors sinful…
The Voice of One 