|
While a large crowd gathers, Jairus, the synagogue ruler, approaches Jesus boldly. He puts aside all dignity and pride, falls at Jesus’ feet, and pleads with him for his dying daughter. (Mt 9:18-26; Mk 5:21-43 Lk 8:40-56) Because Jesus is a controversial figure, Jairus risks his own reputation among his peers, but none of that matters—he is desperate. “Please, come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” … 
I have begun the new year rehearsing a list of things to worry about. Not the best start. None are life-altering events, just the normal stress of details, deadlines and efficiency (or lack of). Time to go back to life-giving words, and breathe them into my anxious heart. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your … 
Acknowledging our total depravity assaults our pride and self-sufficiency. As we age, however, we more easily admit the deterioration of our physical composition. In recent years, our terrorized world, which seems to bleed evil deeds, makes it easier to concede our irreparably corrupt hearts. Perhaps our last holdout is acknowledging the depravity of our minds. We don’t want to admit that our fallen-ness has corrupted our capacity to think rightly, that the world … 
We call ourselves Christ-followers. We’ve stated our allegiance and rejected the world’s counterfeits. We study Jesus’ words and even memorize them. But following Jesus means more than that—it means patterning our life after his. It means dying to self for the sake of others. Jesus gives us this word picture, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But … 
Another mass shooting—an all-too-common phenomenon that has become part of our cultural landscape. The perpetrators, often called psychopaths and madmen, leave people searching for explanations and motives. Many ask, “What is our world coming to?” and “When will this stop?” Voices from the Twitter-sphere: “senseless” “unfathomable” “no words to express.” People are asking sincere questions. The same responses keep circulating on social media without providing real answers. Perhaps it’s time we take … |