It may sound absurd, but it’s true: we often take it upon ourselves to be Christ. Usually, we do so unconsciously, out of a sincere desire to be like Jesus, and not because we consciously wish to supplant Him. So, we try to have endless patience with difficult people; when visitors come to church, we…
Tag: Jesus
Fire Shut up in My Bones
“So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed,…
Crux
Graphic by Patrick Murphy: http://inspiredsketch.blogspot.com/ Here— where clouds overhead and crowds at your feet thicken into an untimely darkness— you can’t tell miracle from murder, blessing from curse, God from your enemy. Here— where vultures overhead and priests at your feet circle, waiting for a body— you can’t tell mystery from mockery, life from death,…
Home, Sweet Home (Guest post by Mallory Patrick)
Today’s post is by my sister-in-law, Mallory Patrick. Mallory is a woman of many hats and three cats (Mama Cat, Baby Cat, and Big Tom). Among her hats are Bible school teacher, conference speaker, author/editor, cross-stitcher, and flute-player. Recently, Mallory was asked to develop a Bible curriculum for Freedom Christian Academy in Arizona. What…
The Name
“For the sake of your name do not despise us” (Jeremiah 14:21). Glancing through the scriptures, it becomes clear that Jeremiah is not merely appealing to the Lord’s reputation in this verse: “…our redeemer from of old is your name” (Isaiah 63:16; 1 Peter 1:18, 19); “Help us, O God our savior, for the…
Breaking the Mold
I hear a lot of talk about how to “do church.” There isn’t space to explore all the intricacies of this topic here. And the conversation often yields more questions than answers. What’s on my mind is John the Baptist and Jesus. John the Baptist was certainly cool. Here’s this shaggy guy ministering out in…
The Toothless Gospel
Rob Bell recently came out in support of gay marriage (see his interview here). While I’m disappointed, I can’t say I’m surprised. I read Love Wins. My point isn’t really to talk about Rob Bell. But his thinking in Love Wins and his support of gay marriage illustrate something about the church that concerns me. …
Review of “The Post-church Christian”
Not long ago, I heard Millennials (AKA “Generation Y”) were ditching church in record numbers. Through an interview on The Unitive, I found myself at PostChurchChristian.com. They offer a free copy of The Post-Church Christian: Dealing with the Generational Baggage of Our Faith to bloggers willing to review the book. Suddenly, my path was clear…
The Supremacy of Jesus
This post was written at the request of reader, Mitch Smith—https://thevoiceofone.org/2013/03/09/suggestion-box/#comments. Thanks, Mitch! *** Revelation is nothing if not a book about the supremacy of Christ. From start to finish, it is full of images that communicate both the fact and the spirit of His supremacy. What do…
Suggestion Box
I’m going to step out here and do something I’ve never done before. This is a question for readers of The Voice of One: Is there anything you’d like me to write a post about? This is definitely a risky move because this post could easily hang out there, flapping in the cyber-wind, with nary…
The Voice of One 