Category: The Spiritual Life

A Trustworthy God

How’s our faith? Does it work? Or is it a work in progress? A key: faith starts with God, not with us. The story of the “rich young ruler” helps here. The man asked Jesus about heaven. Was his pristine religious life enough to gain eternal life? Jesus answered by first asking him about his …

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Spirituality 101

Here’s a key for sound spiritual health: give God thanks in everything. Always. Tell him you recognize how good and faithful he is. Even in hard times. This invitation is striking—a real reach. Yet it’s also biblical, a pathway of faith, and a sign of Christ’s presence in us. Jesus, by his Spirit, works in …

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Abiding

Grocery stores can have bad moments. Think of a bad orange in a produce bin. Part of the skin is collapsing into a grey-green paste, with a white ring spreading around it. A good orange, on the other hand, is a joy. Years ago I volunteered on an Israeli kibbutz for six months to study …

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“Instead”

James reminds us of capsized values. “…you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” [James 4:14-15]. He’s right. We usually …

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Jesus on Believing, 2 of 5

This is the second of five reflections on John’s gospel. John featured Jesus’ purpose to invite people to “believe” and have eternal life (John 20:31). In this post we look at the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 2:23 to 3:36. Verse 2:23—“many believed in his [Jesus’] name”—seems a hopeful start but, “Jesus on …

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