-
The Superstitious Christian: Manipulating God
When I hear the word, superstitious, I see Michael Scott from The Office, saying to the camera, “I’m not really superstitious; I’m just a little stitious.” The other image that comes to mind is a young person in 18thcentury garb anxiously bathing a toad by the light of the moon in order to rid themselves of warts. Nothing but anguish and futility in that, I imagine. Superstition takes so many forms, and not surprisingly given human nature, is still present in the current age where science is supposedly doing away with old wives’ tales and replacing them with the light of cold hard reason. But the superstition I am more…
-
The Road to Jerusalem is in Your Heart
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Psalm 84:5 The heart is often under attack in the church. It seems that one verse in Jeremiah stands for the whole of scripture’s stand on the heart. “Your heart is deceptive and desperately wicked,” preachers tell me, but then I am told to guard my heart, for out of it comes the wellsprings of life, according to Proverbs. Seems contradictory. The New Testament is kinder to the heart, telling me to love others from the heart, to love God with a pure heart, and not to lose heart. And if my heart condemns…
-
God’s Miraculous and Timely Intervention
I suppose I was prepped to believe that God’s intervention can happen miraculously by a youth spent devouring the books of evangelists. These men and women of God proved over and over how He can and does aid those who for whatever reason find themselves caught in unforeseen and overwhelming circumstances. For instance, the story of Nora Lam gave me an understanding of God’s care of the widow and orphan. Her story of staying pregnant for nearly a year while she worked in a hard labor camp in Communist China is gripping. Though I did not expect to need rescue, I was prepared to accept intervention when it came. The…
Healing Through Art & Words
