Fear (and Love)
“There’s a lot of fear circulating these days. Fear in the secular realm, and fear, I think, in the Christian too. We are cowed by the violence and brutality of a fallen world. We’re drawing in, we’re identifying what we’re against. That’s natural. We were made for safety and joy, and the wild danger and grief of the world is not natural. And in a way it is necessary: I am not saying that evil must not be countered or truth spoken. But I think we are in danger of slipping int
Calling from Christ
“As we look to the scriptures, with the crucified and exalted Christ as our starting point, we can, only now, recognize that the world...
Condemnation
“If we look inside ourselves and try to see our tendencies, we will easily notice that we already have a developed habit of condemning...
Forgiveness
“Christ seeks to examine within the heart of each believer. Have we embraced forgiveness of others truly? Have we embraced it in the same...
God's Will vs Self Will
“…sin lies in the direction of the will…A person sins when he looks upon his life as if it belonged only to him…It is necessary for...
Greatness
“To avoid being a stumbling block to anyone, we need to learn meekness and humility. ‘But whosoever will be great among you, let him be...
Love (Toughness of Love)
“One of my students came to seminary when he was already middle-aged, after considerable success in the world. This student was later...
Sickness (Illness)
“Life itself is a form of ascesis. People just don’t recognize it, and lose heart.”…The fact [life], is ascetic in nature means it...
God's Love
“In shame, the only thing we accept is our failure and the idea that we deserve perpetual punishment….The shame we are speaking of is a...
Life (Worthy Life)
“A story is told of the final temptation of Christ. Satan had been trying to tempt Jesus to sin, to compromise, to abandon His divine...