Robert Sabo/New York Daily News
Odell Beckham shocked everyone with his one-handed catch heard around the world.
Most of the conversation about that catch made it sound like it was either a stroke of magnificent luck or the feat of a superhuman god of professional football.
I think it was a great expression of freedom. [Read more…]
Some have medical issues or a genetic predisposition. I have discipline issues. [Read more…]
I’m glad to offer a free devotional created by the students and for the students of McCleary Chapel Ministries at the University of Indianapolis. I hope that you too will enjoy taking the Lenten journey with them. I’m so proud of these students, their love for Jesus Christ, and their heart to share that love with others. [Read more…]
An increasing number of people, and especially the young adults that I work with each day, have come to identify with the malleable phrase “spiritual, but not religious.” There is good reason to believe that all kinds of people identify with the phrase, including some of the most highly religious people in the country, those conservative Evangelicals that proclaim “it’s not religion, it’s a relationship.” Even setting this ambiguity aside, it’s undeniable that many folks today are pleased to find “god” without the trappings of associating with a traditional religious community.
Some scholars believe that the “Christ Hymn” in Philippians 2 may be the oldest liturgical prayer or hymn of the Christian church. We know that the early church was singing the Psalms together, but likely they were singing short little songs like this one together, too. Unfortunately, we don’t have very much of this liturgical material available to us today. The early church didn’t put a book like the Psalms in the New Testament.
I can only speak for myself, but I feel grossly inadequate to the task of living the Christian life most of the time. I’m challenged by preaching and Scripture
to believe that God demands a strong pursuit of the calling to discipleship. Most of the time I fall short. I suppose that is why I have no problem thinking of the practice of confession sacramentally.
[Read more…]
Each year we begin our spiritual formation program by teaching our new students an ancient prayer discipline known as Lectio Divina.
This is a four stage process of using Scripture in your time of prayer. You begin by reading the text many times. Next you listen to how God might be using the text to speak to you in the situation of life that you are in. This part of the practice is really helpful in learning to discern what God’s speaking “sounds” like. The third stage is when you speak back to God your intentions about how you will respond to what you have heard from him.
The fourth stage in the prayer is a time of simply resting in God’s presence and mercy and grace. We are so busy doing things: for God, for others, for school, and for our career. And there is nothing wrong with that. We need to do things. It’s part of our call. [Read more…]
Dr. Jeremiah Gibbs 