What if when we read the bible, we substitute the word “Love” for “the Kingdom”,”the Kingdom of God”? What if what Jesus was telling us is “Love is like this” and “Love acts like that”? Considered this way, all those parables Jesus told about “the Kingdom of God is like . . . ” take on a different hue. Continue reading The Kingdom of God = Love?
My husband tells me that deja vu is your soul checking in with its eternal purpose. It’s a sign that you are right where you are supposed to be. I have no way of knowing if there is any truth to this idea. But I like to think it is. Simply because when it happens in the middle of difficult times, it gives me a … Continue reading Deja Vu
Learning how not to judge has been the most demanding, arduous and painful spiritual discipline I have ever undertaken. It’s also been the most fruitful. I could probably write books and books filled with stories and lessons I would never have encountered if I had not made a commitment to practicing this discipline.
While most people probably don’t think of not judging as a spiritual discipline, this is exactly how I’ve practiced it. It’s something I do out of obedience and discipline, even when I don’t feel like it or it seems pointless. It’s a conscious practice I have chosen to engage in and must make an effort to do.
Not judging is like loving unconditionally in that people who have never really tried doing it assume it’s an easy, comfortable and safe thing to do. The truth is it’s unbelievably challenging. Most people can’t even manage it when someone cuts them off in traffic. Continue reading “The Hardest, Best Spiritual Practice I’ve Ever Tried”
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I think courage is a terribly underappreciated virtue. There’s a tendency to see courage as something a soldier or a superhero needs to face grave danger, while failing to realize how much courage everyday life requires. You can’t grow as a person or keep a living faith life without ample amounts of courage. The Greek word for courage is tharseo. Jesus uses it four times. … Continue reading Take Courage
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Over the last couple of weeks, I have found myself thinking about pride and the ego. There are no end of spiritual teachers who are falling all over themselves to tell us how awful pride and ego are. How they are the root of suffering. How they separate us from God and set us up for a fall. That we can’t live freely and fully … Continue reading Ego and Pride, Compassion and Healing
Recently one of my friends on facebook did a 10 day juice cleanse. Now, I’m always a bit sceptical about this whole concept of a cleanse because I want to believe that I can eat all the chemical food I want, in moderation and be just fine. Plus I’m really, really bad at fasting so it must be unnecessary and probably bad for you, right? … Continue reading How the Dark Night of the Soul Is Like a Juice Cleanse
A few years ago, I had the chance to spend some time with an African American couple who pastored a small church in an urban area. They were good, kind hearted people with a real passion for God. And they knew the bible better than anyone I’ve ever met. One night we sat down and opened the bible and spent about 3 hours doing the … Continue reading What To Do About Bad Theology
The man picked up the beautiful diamond and carried it out into the bright light of the sun. The diamond had not experienced the unfiltered light of the sun since that brief moment it was falling from the sky so long ago. Now the diamond found the intense light shining on it too much to bear. It was too bright and too hot after the cocoon of darkness the diamond has resided in for so long. Sensing the diamond’s distress, the man carried the diamond to a spot under a tree and set it down.
“You need to rest. Let the sun warm you and the breeze refresh you. Watch the animals and learn from them. The passing clouds will bring cleansing rains. There is nothing to fear here. And when you are ready, come and join me walking in the light.”
The diamond could hardly take in the man’s words. Without the muting of water or the covering of filth it was accustomed to, the words seemed to boom painfully loud. As had become its habit, the diamond panicked. Did the man really mean to leave it here alone, exposed to the dangers of the world around it? Did he not know that an animal might eat it as had happened before? That a great gust of wind could blow it away? Was he not worried that it might drown in the rain? And what was this nonsense about walking in the light? How can a lump go walking about like a man? Continue reading “The Diamond and The Bride – Pt 2”
Once there was a diamond dropped from the sky. As it fell, a large crow swept down and knocked the diamond off its course and into some water. The diamond landed on the soft bottom of the pond and panicked, “oh no! I don’t belong in the water! Some fish will see me and eat me and then all will be lost.” So the diamond began to gather moss to itself, in the hope that it would provide camouflage so it could remain hidden and unnoticed in its sad, watery home.
The moss grew on the diamond and soon small fish began to come nibble at it. Some days it seemed that the diamond could hardly gather moss around itself quickly enough to replace what was eaten away each day. Every day was filled with anxiety.
One day, while the little fish were nibbling away at the diamond’s mossy covering, a much larger fish came along. He dove in to take one of the little fish for a snack and swallowed the diamond in the process. The diamond again began to panic. “I don’t belong in a big fish! How will ever get out? At least before, I could spend my days in one comfortable spot. Who knows where this big fish will carry me off to?”
In desperation, the diamond began trying to get back out the way it had come in. Soon, it was lodged in the large fish’s throat, causing the fish great discomfort. As the fish thrashed about trying to dislodge the lump in its throat, it became unmindful and swam too near the surface. An eagle circling high above swooped down and grabbed hold of the fish, carrying it back to its high perch in a tree.
The diamond, who had been hoping only to be regurgitated back near where it had been taken from, sensed itself being lifted higher and higher. “Oh no! I knew that being eaten by a big fish was a disaster. Who knows where I am being carried off to. If only that crow hadn’t knocked me off course, none of this would have happened.” Continue reading “The Diamond and The Bride Pt 1”
The Upside Down World 