I heard it 40 years ago. I was taking what seemed to be a fairly uninspiring course on the historical geography of the Bible. At the time I didn’t realize that the professor was teaching his last class. His health failed mid semester and he didn’t return to teaching. Even though my memory is a […]
Why do you think so many followers of Christ start strong and then become disillusioned over time? Or maybe I shouldn’t assume that’s what you’ve seen. Maybe I should ask you a more balanced question. Is it your hunch that most people who begin strong end up being as hopeful, as warm hearted, and as […]
Scandals among followers of Christ almost always raise questions about the validity of our faith. As regrettable, unnecessary, and damaging as such moral failures are, I’m convinced that they confirm– rather than deny– the wisdom of our constant need for Christ. Here’s another discovery that has changed the way I look at the Bible. See […]
Do you have just a minute? I’ll keep this short. I have a question I want to ask you? How can we possibly come together around the issues that divide us? There’s so much we increasingly disagree about. Yet that is a thought that set up me up for one of the most memorable experiences […]
Crucifixion was torture. Leather straps or spikes were used to hang a condemned man on a pole. Like a helpless animal tangled in a barbed wire fence, the victim could survive for days with excruciating pain. Death usually came by suffocation when, hanging by his hands, the victim lost the strength to draw another breath. […]
What if we can’t forgive ourselves for the sins that haunt us? What if in the middle of beating ourselves up for the hundredth time, we suddenly become aware of an angry voice and then a loud slapping noise? Startled we stop and listen. Now, we hear several voices. Then we hear our name and […]
What if we can’t forgive ourselves? Is that the worst thing that could happen to us? Or would it be far worse for us to have no lingering sadness for the foolish things we have done? Could that be one reason the Bible does not tell us to forgive ourselves? Instead, the Apostle Paul tells […]
When God forgives our sins, does he really forget what we have done? Or, as some translations indicate, is it probably more accurate to say that, when he forgives us, he does not remember those sins against us (Psalm 79:8)? I’m raising the question because I ended an earlier post saying that forgiveness, as described […]
Why won’t some of us stop punishing ourselves for the wrongs we’ve done? I know the question. Long after I’ve asked God’s forgiveness, I have silently cursed myself for doing things that embarrassed me and hurt others.There was a time, though, that I wouldn’t talk this way. I assumed that forgiving me was God’s prerogative […]
As we think together about how hard it can be to forgive ourselves, I took a chance to ask some co-workers, some of whom just happen to be counselors, why they think so many of us continue to beat ourselves up for past mistakes. I thought you might be interested in reading a summary of […]
