You & me together

The Spirit is God’s bond of love. It’s who he is and what he does. Yet he’s fully personal, with feelings, intentions, and actions. He prefers transparency in his role of elevating others, in forming union, and sustaining unity. So the Father loves the Son, and the Son in turn loves the Father, with the …

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Make this the year!

Decades ago, in 1987, I sent an article on Bible reading off to a magazine [the Moody Monthly] and it was published. I’ve maintained a slightly updated version on a separate page of this site as “Bible read throughs.” I’ve now scrubbed it up a bit, but without changing the basic content. Here’s the new …

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Next Month

Lately I’ve pushed things aside, including Spreading Goodness posts, to write a syllabus for a course on “Affective Theology.” It’s offered very soon—next month—at Multnomah Biblical Seminary (June 12-16). Four hours each day, with no online option. I mention it in case any SG readers might be interested and available at the last minute. The …

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Dependent Hearts

How does faith reshape our appetite for freedom? Freedom has been a human ambition from Adam and Eve onward. It’s ironic, given our deep reliance on others: in being birthed and raised; in learning; in work, family, and daily needs; and in our final interment. There is a healthy impulse to leave home to enter …

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New Identities

[I published an earlier version today. I wasn’t satisfied with it; so here’s my revision] What is an identity? Informally, we call it the “self” that anchors our unique view of life. It’s home to our core motives and deepest values. It determines why we do what we do. In Christian history a common basis …

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A Vision for Life

In the first century the Christian faith grew dramatically—hearts changed in huge numbers. So, what created that change? This post is the first of four to chase the question, with a summary post to follow. I pray the core insights are as useful in today’s post-Christian world as they were in the new-Christian days of …

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