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breaking ground to bring growth
Staring at my reflection I realize that the person looking back at me is not the little girl from the memory. Yet if I look deep enough, I see hints of her. The tears begin to pour like rain. I remember things I wish to forget. I fade quickly into the remembering, the pain and grief overtaking me. Then I breathe deeply and simply say the name, Jesus. Suddenly the memories fade, the room stops spinning and I am able to catch my breath again. I start to talk with Jesus.
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solid rock
Few lives in Scripture have been painted in such vivid strokes as that of Simon Peter. A faithful reader can trace his character arc from rough fisherman to zealous disciple, fearful turncoat to bold apostle. More than once recently, I’ve had cause to remember the final interactions Jesus had with Peter surrounding His crucifixion. Etched deeply in all our Sunday school memories is the story of Peter’s three denials of His professed Messiah. Following closely on its heels is his parallel restoration, when the resurrected Christ offers Peter three chances to reaffirm his love. But the episode that has long been dear to me, and the one which has captured…
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whispers of the fall
I was made for this: eternity. I can’t define it — it slips through my fingers like morning mist when I dare try — but I can feel it. I feel it down deep within the place where knowing settles sure and solid. From the first beat of my fresh-sculpted heart, this longing sparked to life. The moment my eyes fluttered open at the dawn of my awakening, I knew. I was made for this! Carved from the side of Man, himself formed from dust and God-breath, I breathe in the lingering scent of Divine that hangs heavy on the air. I cannot sit still; I am poised here on the…
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From Barrenness to Birth
I feel a deep affinity for the barren women Scripture holds up to the light. While their childless state was obvious to all, the weight of unmet longing in their hearts could be fully shared by no one. Surely they tried to be content, knowing themselves to be loved by their husbands, cherished by their God … or believing themselves to be, if not quite feeling it. What they felt instead was surely inadequacy, unworthiness, an inability to participate successfully in this vital female role. After all, their value in society was determined by their ability to bear children. Without an understanding of biological processes such as we have today,…
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Shattered
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus …” Romans 8:1 heralds a gift seemingly too good to be true for all who struggle within the tangle of our own shame. No condemnation? Can that be real?!? We believe, in principle, that God forgives. We find ourselves celebrating without reservation the grace He extends to others. But when it comes to our sin, our transgressions … we somehow suspect we fall outside the reach of His mercy. If we could only, for a moment, look beyond ourselves and see the schemes of the enemy who means to drag us endlessly through the muck of our…
