Morning thoughts on your real ancestry… Your spiritual ancestry. Try this on for size. Your spiritual ancestry – your real ancestry is revealed in the tenth chapter of his Gospel. John says that the people were intent on killing Jesus because he was not content with merely breaking the Sabbath, He dared to speak of God […]
Archive | Christianity
Christianity is Alive and Well
Christianity is alive and well. My guess is, you were not expecting that. Admittedly, I do write often about what’s gone wrong in the Church…within Christianity. But there is much about which I hope…I exult…I find cause for celebrating. I was inspired to think about this today after reading John Pavlovitz’ devotional reflections at his […]
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Why Christianity Needs Heretics
Christianity needs heretics and, anyone who knows Christian history, knows this religion, as indeed all religions, has had its share of them. In fact, virtually every denomination was birthed out of what was labeled heresy by the “orthodox” at that time.
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Follow Jesus: Three Reasons to Do So
Why follow Jesus? Or, what does it mean to follow Jesus? This morning, I opened the Gospel of John to the sixth chapter, desiring to read and reflect on what has become my favorite Gospel account of the life of Jesus. I did not get very far in the text, however, before I stumbled over […]
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Crucifixion: A New Way to Think about Jesus’ Death
Crucifixion Of Jesus Why did Jesus die? The most honest answer? Nobody really knows. Not even the Apostle Paul and he was likely the first to write about these matters (Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 12). Death by crucifixion is a painful, slow death and virtually unimaginable to the modern mind. History tells us that […]
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The Single Greatest Spiritual Truth
By Dr. Steve McSwain on July 13, 2013 in enlightenment, Happiness, Salvation, Spirituality, The Awakened Life
What Is the Single Greatest Spiritual Truth You Have Ever Learned? I got asked that question today and, after thinking for a moment, I suppose I would have to answer like this: “As soon as you are disposed to being alone with God you are…no matter where you are: in the city, in the monastery, […]
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What Is Salvation, Enlightenment, Awakening? Learning to Let Go…
Fr. Thomas Keating, the Trappist monk, said “Discernment is a process of letting go of what we are not.” “Discernment” is yet another word, similar in meaning to enlightenment, awakening, salvation. All of these words point to the process of “letting go,” as Keating puts it, “of what we are not.” What are we not? […]
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Who Are You?…
When asked this, how would you respond? I think I will have to respond like this: “When I left America for Europe on my first trip around the world, I left as a Baptist Christian. When, in Europe, however, I realized I was really more than just a Baptist Christian, I was a Catholic Christian, […]
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Did You Know?…
Now, I did not know this until after I began coaching religious leaders and consulting with churches all across America but, are you aware of just how many different kinds of Baptists there are? More than there are flavors of Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream. There are… American Baptists, National Baptists, Southern Baptists General Baptists, Regular Baptists, […]
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On the Pathway…But, to Where?
On the Pathway…But, To Where? It’s today’s buzzword, isn’t it? Pathway…Journey…People speak quite frequently these days about being on the path…or, on the journey. But, to where? For some Christians, it is a journey to heaven. Really? Is that the point of this life? Just to endure it to make it finally to heaven? At […]
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Who Are the Followers of Jesus?…
Disciples of Jesus are not “saved” people. They are “learners” instead. Which is of course what “disciple” really means. And, what are “learners” learning? How to be followers of Jesus. Isn’t there a difference? And, isn’t following Jesus what Jesus himself invited people to do? I am a follower of Jesus. Perhaps not a very […]
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Stepping through the Door…and Into Yourself
You cannot imagine – or, maybe you can – how many religious people, mostly religious leaders, say to me, “I agree with much of what you say…much of what you write…and, even much of what you believe, but do you know what would happen to me if I were to say in church the things […]
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How Does He Know Me So Well?
It is one thing to do good. Quite another thing, however, when the crafty ego within you seizes the good you do as a way to be revered. Mark Nepo How does he know me so well? This has been a significant challenge for me throughout my adult life. I have wanted so much to […]
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Hunger Games: Be Easter Now!
As with most great movies, there are many parallels to our shared experience as human beings in the most recent blockbuster, “The Hunger Games.” I loved this movie. And now, I must read the books. In one of the film’s many memorable scenes, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), co-star who is in love with Katniss Everdeen […]
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For Those Times When You Believe It Is Finished!
I have always loved Louis L’Amour’s statement: “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished…that will be the beginning.” I suspect I’ve loved that statement because more than once I’ve believed it was finished…as if it were all over for me. And never more acutely than when all the external trappings of […]